Is Abortion Unforgivable Sin?

[30Something]

I’ve been worried because 6 years ago my husband & I had to terminate our first pregnancy at 19 weeks, because the baby lost all her amniotic fluid, the placenta had problems and I was bleeding badly. We were told that the baby had no chance of survival and that if we didn’t terminate, I could die because I was bleeding so much. We chose to terminate the pregnancy.

I am scared of going to Hell for this. I hear about the unforgivable sin being blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Do you think I’ve committed that sin?

 

[loko]

I’ve been worried because 6 years ago my husband & I had to terminate our first pregnancy at 19 weeks, because the baby lost all her amniotic fluid, the placenta had problems and I was bleeding badly. We were told that the baby had no chance of survival and that if we didn’t terminate, I could die because I was bleeding so much. We chose to terminate the pregnancy.

I am scared of going to Hell for this. I hear about the unforgivable sin being blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Do you think I’ve committed that sin?

First of all, I am sorry for the difficult circumstances that led to the heartbreaking decision. Set your mind at ease. Abortion is not an unforgivable sin, it is however a Mortal Sin. If you confess in a repentant state, God will forgive this sin. Confess to your Priest and do whatever penance he imposes. He will take into consideration the factors surrounding your decision such as were you aware at the time of the abortion that it is a Mortal Sin etc.

The only unforgivable sin is blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

May god bless your babies souls

 

[Keith_W_OR_USA]

I’ve been worried because 6 years ago my husband & I had to terminate our first pregnancy at 19 weeks, because the baby lost all her amniotic fluid, the placenta had problems and I was bleeding badly. We were told that the baby had no chance of survival and that if we didn’t terminate, I could die because I was bleeding so much. We chose to terminate the pregnancy.

I am scared of going to Hell for this. I hear about the unforgivable sin being blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Do you think I’ve committed that sin?

Hi, My Wife and I had a similar experience and no it is not a sin at all. Murder requires the shedding of innocent blood, but you just took action after the complications of your pregnancy. You can talk to a priest about your situation and put your mind at ease.
Even if a woman does have an abortion for no medically necessary reason she can still be forgiven and reinstated to the Church.

HTH.

 

[loko]

Hi, My Wife and I had a similar experience and no it is not a sin at all. Murder requires the shedding of innocent blood, but you just took action after the complications of your pregnancy. You can talk to a priest about your situation and put your mind at ease.
Even if a woman does have an abortion for no medically necessary reason she can still be forgiven and reinstated to the Church.

HTH.

She must be repentant though, women can’t just have abortions willy nilly (the OP being an obvious exception) and expect to be forgiven every time. That would be making a mockery of the Church and the Sacrament of Confession.

Also abortion is a Mortal Sin, forgivable but still a sin.

 

[faithfully]

She must be repentant though, women can’t just have abortions willy nilly and expect to be forgiven every time. That would be making a mockery of the Church and the Sacrament of Confession.

Also abortion is a Mortal Sin, forgivable but still a sin.

This obviously goes for any sin out there. (edit to add: Not the mortal part)

OP, You need to talk with a priest. God knows your heart. We’ve all been in sinful situations we never imagined we could be in. God is aware more than any person just how human we are.

I kind of doubt many women have abortions willy nilly and then just figure they say they are sorry, over and over again.

 

[The_Scott]

Hi, My Wife and I had a similar experience and no it is not a sin at all. Murder requires the shedding of innocent blood.

How did you come to this conclusion in your situation? How was the child not innocent? I’m particularly baffled as to why you said it was not a sin.

To the OP: It is only unforgivable if you don’t seek forgiveness. But if you are sorry for this, and confess this to a priest, then your sin is forgiven. ALL sins are forgivable - even the most heinous of them - if the sinner is repentant. But if he or she is not, then the sins cannot be forgiven.

Also, I’m sorry for what happened. I can’t begin to imagine the trouble you went through.

 

[Turtle_Turtle]

The only unforgiveable sin is that sin that is not repented of.

 

[Ohana]

I encourage you to talk with your priest about this. You have suffered enough, both in losing your child, then in worrying about it since then.

My guess is, and really, only a guess, is that when your water broke and you were bleeding severely, you had already lost your baby. I don’t know how far along you were, but often in those circumstances a procedure is done to clean out the uterus to stop the bleeding. Talk to your priest, he will be able to guide you and your spouse through this. God bless you two and your little one in heaven.

 

[loko]

This obviously goes for any sin out there. (edit to add: Not the mortal part)

OP, You need to talk with a priest. God knows your heart. We’ve all been in sinful situations we never imagined we could be in. God is aware more than any person just how human we are.
**
I kind of doubt many women have abortions willy nilly and then just figure they say they are sorry, over and over again**.

I personally know 3 Catholic women that had abortions because they could not afford the baby, I tried to talk them out of it, but was unsuccessful. This really lays heavy on my heart. I know of another that has had 6 abortions, yes 6 abortions because in her own words “she couldn’t be bothered taking the Pill and it feels better without a condom”.

Two of these women are ‘practicing Catholic’, one is Protestants belonging to a church that also denounces abortions and the other a Catholic non practicing.

 

[Saul_of_Tarsus]

First, I am sorry for your loss.

Is your circumstance a mortal sin? When a soldier kills an enemy soldier in battle, it is not a sin. When a man murders another man, it is however. Different circumstances make something a sin and not a sin. Is yours a mortal sin, killing the life of God within you? I wouldn’t gamble.

I understand that you had complications. Yours was a rare state that required you to take action. In this instance, the child, if it had gone to term, I imagine it would probably have been still born (from what I gather from your info). Still borns cause massive physical as well as mental damage to the mother. I’m not going to go further on this, as I’m sure your doctor already has.

I strongly encourage you to go to Confession. The massive guilt you feel is a good sign that you are ready for a proper examination of conscious. Thank you for remaining faithful! I will pray for you.

 

[SaintPatrick333]

I personally know 3 Catholic women that had abortions because they could not afford the baby, I tried to talk them out of it, but was unsuccessful. This really lays heavy on my heart. I know of another that has had 6 abortions, yes 6 abortions because in her own words “she couldn’t be bothered taking the Pill and it feels better without a condom”.

Two of these women are ‘practicing Catholic’, one is Protestants belonging to a church that also denounces abortions and the other a Catholic non practicing.

How horrible u_u Pray for these women that sometime between now and their death that they come to their senses. I fear enough for my own salvation but I would not want to be them if they deny themselves repentance and have to be held accountable for their actions. Society has done a number to warp people’s minds and desensitize the to truly important things. Sometimes I fear for the world we live in and the direction it’s going but then I remind myself, this living battle we are experiencing right now has been won thousands of years before any of us were born. And we’re on the winning team God Bless

 

[slotty]

We were told that the baby had no chance of survival

**The USCCB - Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services

1. Operations, treatments, and medications that have as their direct purpose the cure of a proportionately serious pathological condition of a pregnant woman are permitted when they cannot be safely postponed until the unborn child is viable, even if they will result in the death of the unborn child.**

My interpretation of this may be wrong but you were informed that medically speaking your baby had no chance of survival. I’m not a doctor but I would understand it to be from what you wrote your babies life could not be saved and all they could do was save your life. If that’s the case then I’m not even sure what you did was procure an abortion.

Speak to a priest and know that whatever happens God’s Mercy is always greater than our most grievous sin

 

[JackHandy]

I’ve been worried because 6 years ago my husband & I had to terminate our first pregnancy at 19 weeks, because the baby lost all her amniotic fluid, the placenta had problems and I was bleeding badly. We were told that the baby had no chance of survival and that if we didn’t terminate, I could die because I was bleeding so much. We chose to terminate the pregnancy.

I am scared of going to Hell for this. I hear about the unforgivable sin being blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Do you think I’ve committed that sin?

If I understand the sin of blasphemy against the holy spirit correctly, you have not committed it. I believe that this sin refers to rejecting the truth which the Holy Spirit gives you (see John 16: 7-13).

My advice would be to talk to your pastor about this and decide if it is something that you need to bring to confession. It sounds as though your baby may have already been dead at this point. Your pastor will be able to give you wise counsel, in any case.

My heartfelt condolences at the loss of your child.

God Bless,

Jack Handy

 

[Veronica97]

What a horrible situation for you and your husband to have been in. I agree with the posters who said to speak with a good priest about what happened. You can do this in Confession if you wish. I am so sorry for the loss of your baby.

 

[30Something]

Thank you all for your posts. I have confessed to a priest & have asked God to forgive me. But I came across the verse about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and worried that I had committed the unforgivable sin. I’m a fairly new Christian, so am not really sure what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means. I know one definition of blasphemy is doing something irreverent toward God, and I was wondering if that included abortion.

 

[Turtle_Turtle]

Thank you all for your posts. I have confessed to a priest & have asked God to forgive me. But I came across the verse about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and worried that I had committed the unforgivable sin. I’m a fairly new Christian, so am not really sure what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means. I know one definition of blasphemy is doing something irreverent toward God, and I was wondering if that included abortion.

Glad you went to Confession and have sought peace.

I believe blaspheny against the Holy Spirit means rejecting the Mercy of God and not repenting of one’s sins, I could be wrong about that though.

No blasphemy does not include abortion.

blas·phe·my/ˈblasfəmē/

Noun:

The act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk.

Here are some links about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

What is blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?

 

[InternetWoman]

I agree with the poster who says the OP’s action was NOT an abortion. An abortion is a medical procedure whose intent is to kill the baby. This was a medical procedure the intent of which was to save the mother. It is the same for tubal pregnancies - where the baby implants in the Fallopian tubes. Termination of the pregnancy in this case is not an abortion, it is a medical procedure to save the life of the mother.

 

[trogiah]

In Mark’s gospel, the application of “the unforgiveable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” is clearly stated. There were certain religious leaders who looked at Jesus and all that he taught and all that he did and still said “he is possessed by an evil spirit.”

They saw the example of all that is good and called it evil. They stood in judgement of God and condemned God. That is the most certain way to incur God’s condemnation.

In other places, Jesus clearly states that God’s condemnation is incurred most certainly by those who practice condemnation - not for the commission of any particular sin. “If you forgive others their sins, then your heavenly Father will forgive yours. If you do not forgive others their sins, then your heavenly Father will not forgive yours.”

Every abortion is a tragedy. every loss of an unborn child for any reason is a tragedy. If there was something you could have done to prevent it then you have reason to ask God’s forgiveness and should be very careful about standing in judgement of others in similar situations. If there was nothing you could have done then there is no sin to forgive.

Peace to you and your family

Jim

 

[Turtle_Turtle]

I agree with the poster who says the OP’s action was NOT an abortion. An abortion is a medical procedure whose intent is to kill the baby. This was a medical procedure the intent of which was to save the mother. It is the same for tubal pregnancies - where the baby implants in the Fallopian tubes. Termination of the pregnancy in this case is not an abortion, it is a medical procedure to save the life of the mother.

There are such things as natural abortions where no one intends to kill the baby and the baby’s life is brought to an end. How does this fit into your definition of abortion?

 

[InternetWoman]

There are such things as natural abortions where no one intends to kill the baby and the baby’s life is brought to an end. How does this fit into your definition of abortion?

Then it’s not an abortion. An abortion is defined by the intent to kill the baby. So I might use the term “natural termination” or something. I assume you mean where the woman’s body simply ejects the baby on its own?