‘Silent No More’ campaign spotlights post-abortion stories
By Rayanne Damiano
Editor-in-Chief
Continued from last week
For those involved in the post-abortion witness campaign titled Silent No More, it is not enough for abortion to be illegal in this country.
According to campaign spokeswoman Janet Morana, “What we want is for abortion to be unthinkable.” That goal would be easily attained if enough women got a chance to tell their story of personal pain and anguish as a result of choosing to have an abortion, Morana maintained during her address to the capacity crowd attending the Critical Life Issues Conference.
The Oct. 9 event, sponsored by the diocesan Office of Pro-Life Activities and held in the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, gave a prominent spotlight to the Silent No More campaign and featured the personal testimony of two women who had abortions.
Morana, who is also the director of Priests for Life, said, “For every dead child there is a scarred mother, a hurting dad. We need to bring it around in this country.”
The day included the participation by Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski at its opening Mass (see last week’s report), and Bishop Emeritus Edward T. Hughes at its closing. In a brief address, Bishop Hughes thanked all who “work so hard to save God’s children.”
Reflecting on the power of words, Bishop Hughes noted that they can be misleading and destructive. He cited, by example, the description of abortion as “the termination of pregnancy and exercising the right to privacy.”
Quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Bishop Hughes said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter most.”
He encouraged members of the audience to“never be silent,” reminding them that “neutrality helps the opposition; silence increases the torment of the victims.” He added,“And what greater victim can there be than the innocent unborn child?”
In closing, the bishop said, “The Lord will be with us every step of the way.”
Providing both musical entertainment and powerful witness at the day’s luncheon was Tony-award winning performer Melba Moore, who recounted giving herself an abortion age 18. In a chilling admission that she had numerous abortions all the way up through her mid-20s, Moore stated “I suffered deep loneliness and depression. I felt used, dirty and bad. The price was too high.”
Equating abortion with the curse of slavery in the United States, Moore said,“Freedom ain’t free and the lives of our unborn babies ain’t cheap.”
A convert to the Catholic faith, Moore expressed a sense of gratitude for the “privilege to serve as a bright light for those coming through.” She plaintively urged, “Please, always choose life.”
Mary Kominsky, co-facilitator of a post-abortion healing outreach in Staten Island, while having served as a speaker in numerous pro-life capacities, said that she offered her first real public witness at the day’s conference. Citing the staggering statistics that half of all women who reach age 45 have had at least one abortion, and that 4,000 babies are aborted every day, Kominski stated,“Abortion is the unspoken hidden cancer that has an effect on the mother, father and extended family. It’s a lie followed by a lifetime of silent suffering.”
Telling her story of getting pregnant after having sex with her high school boyfriend, Kominsky said, “There is nothing worse than experiencing the death of a child, especially when you’ve had a hand in that death.”
Explaining that she ran away from the scars that were left by her abortion until the anguish overcame her much later, she said, “The pain is so deep and so buried, it can take years to surface. It is nothing less than a wound to the soul and needs spiritual and psychological healing.”
Spreading the word that help is available is part of the aim, Kominksy said. She spoke of her work with Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries, which is now offered to women in 47 U.S. states, 15 countries, including Russia, Ireland and Africa, and in seven languages.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law