Future Life Celebration: Abortion’s Shadow, Part 1 of 2

In this episode, we’ll gain insights from Dr. Amanda Willie, a licensed clinical Christian counselor who works with the non-profit organization And Then There Were None (&TTWN). Founded by Ms. Abby Johnson, &TTWN empowers individuals in the abortion industry to leave their jobs and heal from the emotional and psychological trauma associated with their work. As stated on the organization’s website, “We help abortion workers quit their jobs in the abortion industry and rediscover the peace, joy, and freedom they’ve been missing. No abortion clinic workers, no abortion clinics, no abortions. It starts with the workers.” Many former abortion workers have described their experiences as deeply distressing, with some even driven to the point of attempting suicide.

“Former abortion workers are committing suicide due to the acts that they've committed in the abortion clinic, or they're at least attempting. And we want to stop that. So, we have to fight for them, just like we have to fight for the babies in the womb, just like we have to fight for the moms who are in desperation. We have to fight for those workers and get them out of the industry and get them into a new life. And that takes work, and it takes healing, and it takes therapy.”

“Many, many people come to Healing Foundations (&TTWN) even if they aren’t engaged in weekly therapy with me. So we have had 706 people as of the beginning of July (2024), quit the abortion industry, and come through our ministry. And we’ve had we've actually had 48 (abortion) clinics close permanently due to their workers, somebody coming out, coming through our ministry, telling their friends, ‘Hey, they will help you.’ And then they all come out. The (abortion) clinic can’t stay staffed, and they have to shut down.”

“A large number of our former abortion workers have diagnosable PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). That is not the, you know, anecdotal PTSD that a lot of people say, ‘Oh, I’m having a post-traumatic stress reaction to this.’ No, it’s actual diagnosable PTSD. They experience nightmares. They experience, of course, anxiety and depression.”

“I have clients that have a lot of physical issues that have come from working in the (abortion) industry, specifically like hives, hair loss, loss of appetite, or unexplainable weight gain. Things that come along with mental health distress, like anxiety and depression. But it's at such a deeper level. We’ve seen abortion industry workers who worked in the 70's and never told any of their family or friends that they had worked in the abortion industry, and they actually experienced long-term illness until they were able to express what they had seen and experienced in the industry. Then that was alleviated.”