Christians have abortions, too

One of the most predominant challenges for pro-life activists has always been a simple one: Most Christians do not take abortion seriously. While those of us who work in the pro-life movement know that abortions take place with chilling frequency within Christian schools, churches, and organizations, many Christians feel as if this is a problem “out there.” Some church leaders, of course, know that abortions take place—it’s why many are so reticent to allow pro-life speakers to present to their congregants in the first place. It’s too controversial, we often hear. It’s why so often, they seem more likely to emphasize that forgiveness for abortion exists while neglecting to warn about the horrific reality of what abortion is in the first place.

That’s why a recent survey of 1,038 women who have had abortions that just came out should serve as a siren-loud wakeup call. From LifeNews:

“More than 4 in 10 women who have had an abortion were churchgoers when they ended a pregnancy,” according to the study, Baptist Press reports.

Only 7 percent discussed their abortion decision with someone at church; and 76 percent said the church had no influence on their decision to abort their unborn child, according to the study…

A strong majority of the post-abortive women who were surveyed identified as Christians, with 43 percent saying they had attended church monthly or even more often at the time of their abortion, according to the study…

According to the survey, women who attended church regularly were much more likely to say they had a positive church response to an unplanned pregnancy or abortion, than those who rarely or never attended church.

This comes as no surprise to those of us who have taken phone calls from desperate girls from our churches, many of whom are pressured by their boyfriends to have abortions so no one will find out about the pregnancy. It comes as no surprise to those of us who know people within our communities who have had abortions. And it comes as no surprise to those of us who recognize that Christians are just as susceptible to the evils of our age as anyone else is.

We hope, however, that data like this being publicly released will assist in waking the churches up to the fact that pro-life work is not something that just needs to be done in society at large. It is something we should be raising awareness about in our own communities, as well.