New Website and Self-Help Book Validate Women Experiencing Grief After an Abortion
MIssing Pieces. Org develops the first self-help plan and Website that takes the fear out of processing grief after an abortion. C. P.R.~ Choice Processing and Resolution is a brand new book that answers women's questions about the sadness they might feel after their voluntary pregnancy termination or abortion. Women caught off guard about the grief they feel after an abortion choice can go to http://www. sadafterabortion. com for reassurance and some free resources.
Buena Vista, CO (PRWEB) June 1, 2010
Professional Therapist Trudy M. Johnson, L. M.F. T., (http://sadafterabortion. com/index. php? p=1_4_About) who helps women with grief after an abortion decision, says it is time to give women who've chosen to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy a venue to grieve and process their loss.
Women who've made abortion choices over the last decades make up one of the largest demographic in our nation. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a statistical gathering arm of Planned Parenthood over one million choice decisions per year have been made since 1973.
Johnson believes women do not talk about an abortion in their past (http://www. missingpieces. org/pdfs/Is%20it%20OK%20to%20talk%20about%20my%20abortion. pdf), "This is because they don't want to risk rejection, receive condemnation, or be misunderstood about the natural sadness]that can occur after a voluntary pregnancy termination. Women experience something called disenfranchised grief. There are no open venues for talking about, crying about, or expressing any emotion over the feeling of loss that can often blindside a woman after a decision to terminate a pregnancy," says therapist Trudy Johnson, founder of Missing Pieces. Org (http://www. missingpieces. org) a woman's issues counseling organization.
Johnson recently developed a Web site for women searching on the internet looking for resources after an abortion choice. Going to http://www. sadafterabortion. com (http://sadafterabortion. com) women can at least know that it is normal to feel sad after an abortion. "Many women are caught off guard, thinking they will only feel relief," Trudy Johnson believes. " Visiting many online chatrooms I found cries for help addressing this issue. Women are looking for answers and have no where to turn. This is not a political issue. This is a woman's heart issue."
Johnson continues with this to say about grief after abortion, "Finding the courage to look for help processing grief after abortion can be challenging. It is ironic that women can walk into the front door of a clinic to get an abortion, but their choices are few when it comes to grieving the loss. After the choice, the clear cultural message is 'don't talk and don't cry about your abortion.'"
Johnson shared in a recent interview about her own experience with abortion loss. "Several years after my abortion in college, I felt the need to understand the deep sadness (http://www. missingpieces. org/pdf/Secret%20heart%20ache. pdf) that was invading my daily thoughts. I didn't know what was going on inside. I only knew I needed to talk to someone. I parked my car a few blocks down the street from my appointment. I walked up the alley and knocked on the back door of the building. I remember wondering why there wasn't a doorbell there for those of us needing to discreetly go inside."
"Now think about this concept," she states with passion. "I just described going to a support group for abortion grief. I entered through a back-alley door for fear of being seen by anyone I knew. We've taken back door entrances out of the choice process. It is time to take back door entrances out of the grieving process!"
Dr. Christiane Northrup, M. D., F. A.C. O.G., recently acknowledged the importance of grieving an abortion decision. Dr. Northrup is author of one of the nation's leading books on women's health titled, Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (http://www. drnorthrup. com/). Dr. Northrup notes, "As a former abortion provider, I've long known about the need for grieving voluntary pregnancy termination ('vpt')."
Johnson created a free version of C. P.R. called "C. P.R. Light" that can be downloaded and printed (http://sadafterabortion. com/index. php? p=1_2_Free-Resources) and made into a small booklet for giving someone that needs help processing abortion grief. She also makes available on her Web site a convenient self-test to see how unprocessed grief after abortion can affect one's daily life.
Ms. Johnson plans on being the catalyst for women coming out of the closet concerning an abortion in their past.
She hopes this self-help plan for processing grief after abortion without fear will be a valuable resource for millions of women to reach closure for the haunting sadness they may feel buried deep inside following an abortion decision.
# # #
