Margie's Testimony at the 2011 March for Life

	Margie Arizona, United States

	I had an abortion because my fiance told me I was going to. They say that abortion is for the rights of women, but in my case it was the opposite. The appointment was made for me, I was driven to the clinic and when I told the clinic that I did not want to have an abortion, they did not care. It was the worst day of my life. I was so devastated, my doctor put me on Valium. Eventually, I moved to another state and spent my life living in denial. I traveled the world running from my past and hiding the dark secret that would eventually catch up with me. Twenty years later, I became engaged to my husband and I went to confession. The priest held my face in his hands and said, “My dear child, why did you carry this sin for so long?” I knew that it was the Holy Spirit speaking and I know that God had forgiven me. We moved to California and three years later, I had a brief psychotic episode and I ran away from home. I lived on the streets of Oakland, California for eight days over the Thanksgiving holiday. My family did not know where I was and the media would try to convince them that I was dead. eventually came out of the psychotic state and called home. It is important for you to know that according to medical experts, psychosis is common in women who have had abortions. Dr. Theresa Burke, founder of Rachel's Vineyard reports that on the anniversaries of their abortions, woman act out suppressed memories. It was the twenty-fourth anniversary of my abortion when I ran away, which is exactly what I wanted to do twenty-four years earlier, but did not have the courage. It was a long hard road to recovery from that eight-day episode in 2001. This past July, I attended a Rachel's Vineyard retreat where I found healing and forgiveness. There were twelve of us on the retreat that weekend and there were thirty-seven aborted babies baptized. The pain of that weekend would have been unbearable if not for the overwhelming Love of God. The journey has continued as six of us are here today to give our testimonies. I regret my abortion. I mourn my lost motherhood, but I am especially sorry that I denied my child life and robbed my nephews and nieces of a really great cousin. I am asking you to take a stand and put an end to this culture of death and I pledge to continue this fight until it is ended and that is why I am silent no more.

Silent No More Awareness Campaign: Reach Out - Educate - Share
www.silentnomoreawareness.org