By Peter J. Smith
OAKLAND, California, March 15, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A national post-abortion telephone hotline has released a new series of electronic greeting cards mostly intended for post-abortion women struggling with feelings of guilt, rather than liberation, in their choice to abort their unborn child.
The Oakland based non-profit group Exhale, founded by mostly “pro-choice” post-abortion women, developed the cards after an abortion provider frequently observed no cards existed for women after their abortions. “Exhale” describes itself as “non-partisan” and receives an average of 300 calls a month, mainly from women referred by the many abortion clinics partnered with them.
Exhale says on its website that it designed the 6 cards (available in English and in Spanish) to address “the range of experiences people can have with abortion.”
One card expresses sympathy: “There are no words to express my sympathy for your loss, as you grieve, remember that you are loved.” Another offers encouragement: “I think you did the right thing.” Two other cards have a more spiritual ring: “Healing is possible, may you find peace after your abortion” and “God will never leave you or forsake you. May you find comfort in his constant love.”
Many women often “don’t have someone to talk to – it’s a stigmatized issue,” Aspen Baker, founder and executive director of Exhale told the Associated Press. “So the chance to honor and acknowledge someone’s experience by calling upon something that is within our social practices and social mores seemed important and could go a long way toward supporting people.”
However, rationale behind Exhale’s cards undermines the argument that abortion involves just a mere routine health matter of removing “an unviable clump of cells.” Instead, it implicitly admits that many women have not found abortion to be a liberating choice, but a choice that has engendered feelings of guilt or emotional distress, which need to be assuaged in some fashion.
In fact, in two weeks, Exhale plans to publish a magazine featuring stories, poems, letters and rituals by and for women who have had abortions.
LifeSiteNews readers can view the cards on Exhale’s website here:
https://www.4exhale.org/support/cards/index.php