Supporting a friend to get an abortion

[SignLori]

A friend went to have an abortion and though initially I tried to talk her out of it, I finally said “I’d rather the child be with God then left here on earth to be neglected.” Now, I feel guilty because I see that I was saying it’s OK to have an abortion and I know it shouldn’t be OK under any circumstance. I’m pro-life so I don’t even understand why I did say that and at the time think it was an OK thing to say. Will God forgive me for this?

 

[JoArtist]

I just suggest that you go to confession on this issue. I am sure that God will forgive you if you are sincerely sorry. The wonderful thing is we have a loving and merciful God. Also while you are in confession you can ask your priest what would be the best course of action to try to help the situation. Also I would be sure to pray for the soul of the child.

 

[ahs]

I just suggest that you go to confession on this issue. I am sure that God will forgive you if you are sincerely sorry. The wonderful thing is we have a loving and merciful God. Also while you are in confession you can ask your priest what would be the best course of action to try to help the situation. Also I would be sure to pray for the soul of the child.

+1 on the above.

 

[EmeraldWings]

A friend went to have an abortion and though initially I tried to talk her out of it, I finally said “I’d rather the child be with God then left here on earth to be neglected.” Now, I feel guilty because I see that I was saying it’s OK to have an abortion and I know it shouldn’t be OK under any circumstance. I’m pro-life so I don’t even understand why I did say that and at the time think it was an OK thing to say. Will God forgive me for this?

i agree that you should just go to confession and talk with the priest about it,
but yes, if you are truly sorry and regret what you’ve done, then God will forgive you,
but i feel compelled to tell you, the child was not baptized if it was aborted, and although we must entrust such a situation to Gods mercy, we cannot know one way or the other if an unbaptized child is able to go to heaven…it would be nice to think “yes, it did” but we just don’t know…and that is very serious and important, we must err on the side of caution because we just don’t know,
and i would also like to point out, that living a life of suffering is not such a terrible thing, at least if it’s endured willingly for love of God, and perhaps the story of Saint Germaine will help you understand - gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=15099131

i don’t mean to say these things just to say them, i really don’t want to upset you, but i just want to say it so you understand in case you get into another situation like this,
and although it was not the right thing to do, don’t worry about it to much, because you didn’t do it knowing full well what you were doing, God doesn’t get angry with us when we are truly ignorant of what we’ve done, it is when we know better and do it anyways without caring that He becomes angry, and even then only because of the harm caused to us and those around us,
but anyways, just go to confession and talk with your priest, and i’m sure you’ll get much better help and advice that way.
and pray on it to.

ok, hope this helps, take care.

 

[tlimon]

I believe you are likely an accessory to a violation of the 5th commandment “Thou shalt not murder.” Do not deaden your conscience - sin has a way of dulling the heart and mind. The good news? God forgives. Are you going to ask for it?

 

[starsmurf]

I thought the Holy Father had abolised the idea that unbaptised babies go to Limbo and said they went to Heaven. What possible sin could an unborn baby hae committed to stop him/her entering Heaven?

Go to confession, I’m sure that God will forgive you. He knows that you tried to dissuade your friend from having the abortion. You didn’t mean what you said to encourage her to have an abortion. We all say things that we don’t really mean at difficult times. God understands.

God is our loving Father, He will forgive you because He loves you, trust in Him. We should never doubt that God will forgive even the most terrible sins, if we are truly sorry for them, because then we are putting limits on God.

God bless you

 

[JoArtist]

i agree that you should just go to confession and talk with the priest about it,
but yes, if you are truly sorry and regret what you’ve done, then God will forgive you,
but i feel compelled to tell you, the child was not baptized if it was aborted, and although we must entrust such a situation to Gods mercy, we cannot know one way or the other if an unbaptized child is able to go to heaven…it would be nice to think “yes, it did” but we just don’t know…and that is very serious and important, we must err on the side of caution because we just don’t know,
and i would also like to point out, that living a life of suffering is not such a terrible thing, at least if it’s endured willingly for love of God, and perhaps the story of Saint Germaine will help you understand - gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=15099131

i don’t mean to say these things just to say them, i really don’t want to upset you, but i just want to say it so you understand in case you get into another situation like this,
and although it was not the right thing to do, don’t worry about it to much, because you didn’t do it knowing full well what you were doing, God doesn’t get angry with us when we are truly ignorant of what we’ve done, it is when we know better and do it anyways without caring that He becomes angry, and even then only because of the harm caused to us and those around us,
but anyways, just go to confession and talk with your priest, and i’m sure you’ll get much better help and advice that way.
and pray on it to.

ok, hope this helps, take care.

I believe you are likely an accessory to a violation of the 5th commandment “Thou shalt not murder.” Do not deaden your conscience - sin has a way of dulling the heart and mind. The good news? God forgives. Are you going to ask for it?

This person already understands what they did was sin and feels sorry… You don’t need to lay on the guilt.

 

[IgnatiusDaughtr]

You can always contact the Project Rachel Ministry in your diocese hopeafterabortion.com/

Project Rachel is the Church’s post-abortion healing ministry. While many of the people who contact Project Rachel are women who have had abortions, there are also resources and help available for men, friends, parents, grandparents, family members and others who have been effected by abortion. There are professional counselors, volunteers, and priests who work with Project Rachel. Any priest can hear your confession, of course, but the priests who work with Project Rachel have a special place in their hearts, and training, for working with those affected by abortion.

And, of course, keep praying, for yourself, your friend, and her child. Please know you all will be in my prayers.

 

[tlimon]

This person already understands what they did was sin and feels sorry… You don’t need to lay on the guilt.

She asked, in regards to the advice she gave to her friend, “Will God forgive me for this.” The formula of my response was, (1) Yes, she did something wrong and (2) what she needs to do to be forgiven. Her forgiveness is contingent on repentance. This is the good news. It’s called dissonance and resolution or, otherwise known as, “the other shoe dropping.” Besides, the fact she did something immoral is implicit in your own advice that she needs to go to confession.

 

[2JesusThruMary]

" Pope Benedict XVI has reversed centuries of traditional Roman Catholic teaching on limbo, approving a Vatican report released Friday that says there were “serious” grounds to hope that children who die without being baptized can go to heaven."

usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-04-20-popelimbo_N.htm

Honestly, I would say, confess it to your priest, but I find it highly unlikely that your friend chose to have an abortion because of what you said. It sounds like she pretty much had her mind made up anyways, so I don’t think it’s your fault. Like I said, go confess it, but have faith that God will forgive you, because it’s not your fault that your friend had an abortion. Her abortion was her decision.

 

[JoArtist]

She asked, in regards to the advice she gave to her friend, “Will God forgive me for this.” The formula of my response was, (1) Yes, she did something wrong and (2) what she needs to do to be forgiven. Her forgiveness is contingent on repentance. This is the good news. It’s called dissonance and resolution or, otherwise known as, “the other shoe dropping.” Besides, the fact she did something immoral is implicit in your own advice that she needs to go to confession.

Why would she ask if God will forgive her if she did not know if it was sinful. You don’t need forgiveness unless you did something wrong. I told her to go to confession, because she already knew she was in sin she just needed to know what to do now, not to have her sin repeated back to her. In her post she said she knew she shouldn’t have done that so that shows she knew it was sin.

 

[rainbow1]

The child will go to heaven. I asked a priest about a similar situation years ago. He said God would never take anything out on an innocent child!
Also, God forgave us humans for killing his Son, so He forgives most anything if we are truly sorry…
Blessings!

 

[Evan]

I thought the Holy Father had abolised the idea that unbaptised babies go to Limbo and said they went to Heaven. What possible sin could an unborn baby hae committed to stop him/her entering Heaven?

Go to confession, I’m sure that God will forgive you. He knows that you tried to dissuade your friend from having the abortion. You didn’t mean what you said to encourage her to have an abortion. We all say things that we don’t really mean at difficult times. God understands.

God is our loving Father, He will forgive you because He loves you, trust in Him. We should never doubt that God will forgive even the most terrible sins, if we are truly sorry for them, because then we are putting limits on God.

God bless you

If you actually read the result of the press release it says “Limbo is a viable theological hypothesis” So it was not dismissed, it was just that the Church does NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENS to the unbaptized infants!

What sin? Original sin.
What reward for never having chosen to do good? Limbo maybe (see St Aquinas)
Deserving of heaven: I don’t know of any time the Church promoted this
Deserving of hell: taught by St Augustine.

 

[Beth_Cecilia]

First and foremost, don’t let this guilt eat you up. You sinned. How serious it was, how deliberate it was, how much responsibility you have for the sin are all side issues. You sinned. Why, when forgiveness is offered freely, would you not ask for it? Go to confession!

But, I would also like you to consider talking to your friend again. The chances are, she is feeling guilt too, and you may be in a unique position to get her the help she needs. Be her friend. Talk to her. There are a lot of resources available for post-abortive women. I can almost guarantee that she is in pain.

 

[tlimon]

Why would she ask if God will forgive her if she did not know if it was sinful. You don’t need forgiveness unless you did something wrong. I told her to go to confession, because she already knew she was in sin she just needed to know what to do now, not to have her sin repeated back to her. In her post she said she knew she shouldn’t have done that so that shows she knew it was sin.

Well, I guess you’re very good at addressing half a comment because you’ve done it twice now. Perhaps you could wait a little longer next before guilt tripping me about guilt tripping, which I really didn’t do in the first place. I’m done arguing with you. This really isn’t about us anyway.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

A friend went to have an abortion and though initially I tried to talk her out of it, I finally said “I’d rather the child be with God then left here on earth to be neglected.” Now, I feel guilty because I see that I was saying it’s OK to have an abortion and I know it shouldn’t be OK under any circumstance. I’m pro-life so I don’t even understand why I did say that and at the time think it was an OK thing to say. Will God forgive me for this?

Assuming that you are Catholic…you don’t say…But if you are, you need to go to confession as soon as possible. You gave up on your friend probably because it was harder to keep trying to convince her. Or you simply realized that she was going to do it anyway, but you didn’t need to give up on the baby. You could have said, “I will never approve of what you are doing, but you seem determined to go through with it in any case. I am sorry that is your choice and I will pray for you.”

So go confess and be honest!

You need to contact your local pro-life coalition or the main organization in your area and get some literature. You need to have the phone number and address of a pregnancy help clinic that does not advise abortion. Keep this information in your purse or wallet in case another friend asks you.

 

[tlimon]

What sin? Original sin.
What reward for never having chosen to do good? Limbo maybe (see St Aquinas)
Deserving of heaven: I don’t know of any time the Church promoted this
Deserving of hell: taught by St Augustine.

The entire Eastern Orthodox communion teaches that people do not inheret original sin simply by being born. However, children do inherit the consequences of orginal sin by being born into a world currupted by people who have repeated the sin time and time again. In a sense, original sin is something we are socialized into. I like much of what Augustine wrote, but it isn’t necessary to believe everything he ever wrote.

Also, heaven and hell are not static states. Limbo simply denotes the infants, not having had an opportunity to develop sanctity, can only comprehend the love of God in a way proportional to their ability. Again, the Orthodox make the most sense when they say that heaven and hell are the same reality precieved in different ways. We need to pray that God will love this unborn child. We know God loves all his creation and, therefore, we can rest our mind at ease.

 

[thistle]

A friend went to have an abortion and though initially I tried to talk her out of it, I finally said “I’d rather the child be with God then left here on earth to be neglected.” Now, I feel guilty because I see that I was saying it’s OK to have an abortion and I know it shouldn’t be OK under any circumstance. I’m pro-life so I don’t even understand why I did say that and at the time think it was an OK thing to say. Will God forgive me for this?

Are you Catholic? Your profile is blank on religion.

 

[JoArtist]

Well, I guess you’re very good at addressing half a comment because you’ve done it twice now. Perhaps you could wait a little longer next before guilt tripping me about guilt tripping, which I really didn’t do in the first place. I’m done arguing with you. This really isn’t about us anyway.

My whole point is her question was “will God forgive me” not “what did I do wrong”… you did not need to tell her what she did wrong, just if God would forgive her/what she should do for this forgiveness if forgiveness is possible.

 

[HNA444]

Will the aborted child automatically go to Heaven? I would think so, but does anyone know about this?