A new campaign launched in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 22 at the U.S. March for Life will reach out to everyone affected by abortion and help them find healing. Officially announced at a press conference held by Priests for Life and the Silent No More Awareness Campaign on Jan. 8 at the National Press Club in Washington, the yearlong “Healing the Shockwaves of Abortion” campaign will use interviews, resources, and personal testimony to reach out to the large group of people that is affected by abortion, including grandparents, spouses, siblings, fathers, abortion survivors, and members of the abortion industry. Each month, Silent No More will focus on one particular group affected by the decriminalization of abortion.
Kevin Burke, co-founder of Rachel’s Vineyard, said that at one maximum-security Florida prison he worked at, 90 per cent of the prisoners he spoke with participated in the decision to have an abortion, and several of them admitted that it drove them towards participating in criminal activity. He says it is obvious that abortion affects more than the mother and child.
At the press conference, Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, brought up abortion workers as an example of a group that needs healing as ultrasounds make the humanity of the unborn more apparent.
“A key insight behind the Shockwaves initiative is that abortion destroys everyone and everything that it touches … and that destruction continues moving throughout many circles of people and throughout the generations,” said Fr. Pavone in a promotional video for the campaign. In the same video, Georgette Forney, co-founder of Silent No More, said that she saw that her own abortion had an impact on her parents and her daughter, both of whom had to “grieve” for the loss of the child. Janet Morana, executive director of Priests for Life, said that members of the pro-life movement also need healing for the abortions they could not prevent.
In January, the focus of the campaign was “Healing through the Church.” In the overview of the month’s focus, Silent No More states on its web site, “Silence from our Churches and silence from our Pulpits has sent a clear and powerful message to those with abortion loss in their history … the silence of the Churches enables the denial, the isolation and suffering of those with abortion loss.”
In February, the theme will be “Healing the Black Family” in order of Black History Month.
The campaign web site, www.AbortionShockWaves.com, includes videos, testimonials, press releases, a tool locating post-abortion healing resources, articles, prayers, and blogs.
