Abortion can be a traumatic experience for many women who have undergone the procedure requiring care and healing to overcome powerful emotions that may be negatively impacting their lives.
Recognizing this, an Israeli pro-life organization, Be’ad Chaim, offers a post-abortion Bible study course to help women overcome troubling issues such as guilt, anger and grief that can result from terminating a pregnancy.
“The decision to abort is often made to avoid a crisis without considering how the woman will feel about it afterwards,” Be’ad Chaim Director Sandy Shoshani told KNI. “The consequences of the abortion vary among women.”
“Some women seemingly have no regrets, yet others experience sorrow and remorse,” Shoshani continued. “For some, the regret and guilt are immediate. For others the pain is only evident years later. We offer women the opportunity for healing after abortion as we know that God wants us all to be freed from guilt and shame. It is his will that we walk in the fullness of all that he has for our lives.”
Therefore, the course, as Shoshani explains, is “an in-depth Bible study using the power of the Word of God and the revelation of the Spirit to bring healing and release.”
Following a workbook called Forgiven and Set Free by Linda Cochrane, the Bible study has been translated into Hebrew and Russian as well. It consists of eight chapters and deals with the character of God, belief and denial, anger, depression, forgiveness, freedom and acceptance.
“The book is excellent,” Rachel, a counselor who has facilitated the course for Be’ad Chaim, told KNI. “The study is about letting God in to heal the pain brought by abortion.”
“Many people in the world, and even some believers, don’t understand how painful abortion can be for the woman,” Rachel said. “Even though a woman has confessed her abortion as a believer, it may still be very important for her to give deeply rooted residual pain and resentment to God. These emotional places need to be dealt with to give room for the happiness God wants to give us.”
The course has been run as both group and individual studies. Each course is facilitated by a counselor.
“When women do the study in a group it brings them closer to each other,” Rachel explained. “They allow themselves to be vulnerable and open their hearts. Importantly, they can receive support, acceptance and love from the other women.”
One believing woman, “Tamara,” took the course.
“I had an abortion 30 years ago, as a young, dysfunctional and confused university student,” Tamara shared with us. “I did not know Yeshua then and I had grown up to believe the unborn baby was not a human being but a ‘fetus.’ I had no idea abortion was wrong and I took the decision in a moment of utter crisis and without any counseling.”
“At the time I felt relieved,” Tamara recalled. “But in time I came to faith in Yeshua and I understood I had killed my own baby. I confessed my abortion and understood on a mental level that God had forgiven me. But deep inside I still hated myself for what I had done and this was manifested in depression and anxiety and anger.”
Tamara took the course with Rachel.
“It was extraordinary,” Tamara said. “We met each week in Rachel’s office, and she took me through a chapter of the book. Gradually – gently – the Holy Spirit touched my heart and I received a marvelous peace about my unborn baby. I knew the child was with God and that I was truly forgiven.”
At the end of her course, Rachel accompanied Tamara to the Be’ad Chaim Gardens of Life outside Jerusalem where Tamara planted a tree in honor of her unborn child.
“I named the baby and dedicated her to God; it was a beautiful thing. I have closure now – no more guilt and shame,” Tamara shared.
“The course, is about bringing people closer to God and encouraging them to let Him deeper into their hearts,” Rachel summarized. “The study provides a safe and effective way for women who have had an abortion to receive the freedom God has for them.”
For those who would like to know more about the Be’ad Chaim post-abortion Bible study, please call: +972-2-624-2516.