This weekend I finally had the opportunity to watch October Baby.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s the story of a woman who lived through an abortion and in her late teens found out about it.  The movie follows her search for meaning and love as she tracks down her biological mother only to be rejected by her.  She finally winds up back in the arms of her adoptive parents who had loved and cared for her from the beginning of her life.

It’s a moving story and one that isn’t often told.  While I don’t think that it was overt in its anti-abortion stance, it certainly showed the pain and trouble that comes from abortion.  There are many scenes that bring a tear to the eye, but it’s a movie that needs to be seen as it realistically portrays the struggles involved both from the decision to abort a baby to the ambivalence of the abortion workers to the possible repercussions years later.

As I watched October Baby, several truths struck me that I feel are important to share.

1. Abortion is tragic.  Nearly 1.2 million babies lose their lives to abortion every year in the United States.  Worldwide, that number is about 42 million (http://theabortion survivors.com).  These are more than statistics, they are lives!

2. It takes more than having sex to be a parent. In the movie, there was some dialogue about the main character’s father.  This is the man who adopted the “failed abortion,” took care of her and loved her all of her life.  Let’s compare him to the man who had sex with the biological mother then disappeared.  Who would you say is her father? Human attachment comes more from the bond of love and caring through a life of ups and downs then from DNA.

3. Failed abortions put life in trash cans.  It was hard for me to find many statistics on the number of abortions that “failed” since a living baby following an abortion isn’t a positive statistic for those who advocate for abortions.  But according to one website I found whose links were nearly all obsolete due the age of the post, there could have been somewhere between 850 and 1800 failed abortions a year in the United States around 2005.  The majority of these living babies would have simply been left to die outside of their mother’s womb, or killed by one of the abortion workers.

4. There is always pain that comes from abortion, even if it’s only Gods.  There are opinions on both sides of the abortion debate as to whether there is any significant emotional harm that comes to a mother or father who aborts their baby.  We’ve all heard the testimonies of those who finally had to confront what they had done and allow God to help them get through it.  Even if the biological parents have no pain or remorse from their abortion, God still hears the silent cry of the baby who He placed in that womb. Knowing from Scripture that God values all of His creation -all of life- we can be assured that He feels pain and grieves over every child killed by abortion.

5. There is always someone who loves you and wants you.  I think this statement could apply to anyone.  As I watched the movie, I was thinking of the main character who wondered if she was really loved after finding out that she was the result of a failed abortion.  But as I sit here and write now, I realize that there are any number of people who feel lost and unloved.  Regardless of whether one is the survivor of a failed abortion, or lives with a parent who doesn’t seem to love them–they are loved.  There are people who if given the opportunity to know them would love them.  And ultimately, God created them so He loves them and gave His son for them.

6. There is forgiveness, hope, love and peace available after an abortion.  It doesn’t matter what role one may have had in an abortion:  the doctor or nurses who did the procedure, the mother who thought there was no other way out, the biological father who forced it on her, the parents who funded it . . . however someone was involved, they are not outside of the reach of God’s forgiveness.  While God hurts for the loss of life, He still loves those involved and wants to have a relationship with them.  When it seems that an abortion has wrecked their lives, God can bring healing and peace.   There is hope because there is a future.

7. Finally, that child who was aborted is now in the eternal presence of God.  Having been a life from conception, who God saw and knew, when that baby’s life was taken from it, God received her or him into His loving arms to comfort that child forevermore.

If you are pregnant and you think that abortion is your only answer, you can call the National Life center at 800-848-5683 or the Option Line at 800-712-4357 (or visit their website).  You can also visit Care Net or Pregnancy Resource Center to find a local Pregnancy Care Center near you.  For information about the possibility of adoption visit Bethany Christian Services or Christian Adoption Services.   If you survived an abortion, visit The Survivors Network.

The October Baby website also has many resources available to you.  For immediate help, you can go to this page.  For recovery resources, go here.  Look here for adoption resources.

If you’d like more information about abortion and the pro-life cause, visit the National Right to Life website.