Summer 2010 (sorry about the formatting, for some reason it will not allow me to fix it)
“Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright!”
It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don’t matter, anyhow
An’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don’t know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I’ll be gone
You’re the reason I’m trav’lin’ on
Don’t think twice, it’s all right (Bob Dylan)
I always wondered if this song by Bob Dylan “Don’t thinkTwice It’s Alright” was written after he and his girlfriend Susie aborted their baby. It would not surprise me since many relationships end after abortion.
“Don’t think twice” is pretty much the feeling I get after reading articles and emails written by Aspen
Baker, founder of Exhale, a pro abortion,post abortion talk line that prides itself on“listening” to the voices of women whohave had abortions. Seems no matter howmuch I “think” about what she writes, it never really makes much sense.
I have never met Aspen but I think I would like her. She is a gutsy woman who has the courage to confront the proabortion movement with their denial of post abortion “experiences”. Exhale, labels itself “pro voice”, (whatever that means), saying post abortive women’s voices and experiences “should be at the center of
public discussions about abortion. Their new endeavor is “digital storytelling”. Once upon a time....
The trouble I have with all of Exhale’s talks, articles, workshops etc, is that I never seem to find any way in which they are actually helping women. I always end up feeling like a dog chasing its tail, never really addressing what the “story” is, abortion.
In one blog post, Aspen states “The Abortion Wars and the tornado of stigmas, violence and politics they whip up (whether in a Newsweek article or a health-care vote) keep the voices of
women who have had abortions – their experiences, their stories, their needs hidden and neglected.
It’s time to leave the war-rhetoric and the war-recruitment behind. It’s time to create Abortion Peace.”
While I agree that women who have had abortions remain hidden and neglected, I do not agree that it is because of “the tornado of stigmas, violence and politics they whip up”.Women remain hidden because they are filled with guilt and shame, not because of stigmas or politics,but because they participated in the death
of their unborn child.
Exhale’s main objective seems to be having women call with their “stories”in the hopes that they can then be used to remove this stigma by changing how people view abortion in “creating a social climate that is more supportive and respectful”.I personally find it all very sad. Exhale (and Aspen) is seeking to remove the stigmaof abortion by changing things outside of the post abortive woman. Good luck with that one.
In truth, the only way to remove the stigma of abortion is changing things inside. The stigma of abortion finally leaves through a relationship with God. Through a realization brought on by the forgiveness and healing He gives and the freedom you feel through His mercy.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are psychological aspects too that need to be learned, as well as having support and encouragement from those who have gone before you, but it is only in coming to know the only true healer that it does not matter what other people think or say because you know what He has done for you.
No one can take that peace away.
