Reader's Corner
Abortion |
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One
of our readers has taken the time and trouble to share a very
painful and personal experience with us. We thank her for her
courage in doing so.
Jeena's
Story
"I do
not want to dwell on the reasons that led to the abortion of
my child. Because in the past three months, I have come to
understand only one thing - that there is absolutely no
reason that can justify abortion.
This practice goes against all that is human. The womb is a
place that represents the ultimate in security and comfort.
Even when grown up, we all carry in our subconscious, the
memory of our existence in the mother's womb. That is why in
our darkest hours  we
find comfort in a foetal position. I ripped my child from
the sanctity of my womb.
There's
a lot I can tell you about my tragic experience. When I was
going through severe depression, I tried very hard to find
post-abortion trauma counselors in India but to no avail.
So I turned to American sites where abortion is a raging controversy.
Fortunately I found many helping hands there. I was sent books
on post abortion healing. I realized that when it comes to
motherhood, we women have similar experiences in any set up,
in any culture or any country. If I'm feeling so traumatized,
I am sure that there are thousands of other Indian women who
are going through this agony and suffering in silence. I am
sure that there is this silent grief sweeping across our country,
which is not considered worth addressing in our patriarchal
society.
In memory
of my lost child who will live in my heart till my dying day."
Jeena
Abortion is a difficult and very personal issue. In a country
where female infanticide and dowry deaths are an accepted
fact of life, very little attention is paid to the problems
of post abortion stress. For the religiously inclined, it
may be a comfort to know that abortion, whether deliberate
or spontaneous, is believed to be a result of an agreement
at soul level between one who needs to experience life in
the womb for a short time and the mother who undertakes to
provide this experience. In more practical terms, loss of
a child at any stage needs to be expressed in the form of
open grief. The mother can choose any method of expressing
this grief; from giving her child a name and mourning her
publicly, to simply acknowledging her sorrow to her loved
ones. Jeena included excerpts from a book called " Her
choice to heal" by Sydna Masse and Joan Phillips. A portion
of these excerpts is reproduced below:-
Abortive
women
-Experience flashbacks
-Have anniversary reactions
-Feel suicidal
-Have feelings of diminished control over their lives
-Experience difficulty developing and maintaining relationships
-Begin substance abuse
If
you or anyone you know has undergone an abortion and have
these symptoms, please feel free to write in to us so that
we can help put you in touch with others like you as well
as with experts on the subject.
We
welcome any feedback from you on this or any other topic.
Please contact Manisha, Editor, Indian Moms, at info@indianmoms.com
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