Mary Ann Kuharski, director of Prolife Across America, doesn’t like to quote Planned Parenthood but said “even they admit that 90% of women who get an abortion said they did it to please someone else” or to protect someone else.
Kuharski described a call from a woman whose boyfriend in college told her to get an abortion. Her parents agreed it was her best option. So, she did.
The woman told Kuharski, “No one told me the pain I’d live through the rest of my life,” she said.
“This is a decision that can’t be undone once it’s done,” Kuharski said. If a young woman waits even 24 hours with a chance “to see someone,” to have an ultrasound, hear a heartbeat and learn about the baby’s development, it can make a difference, she said.
Founded in 1989 as Prolife Minnesota, Prolife Across America uses mass media to educate the public about life before birth. Its hotline number for free, confidential counseling and help finding pro-life agencies is posted on billboards and other advertisements.
Kuharski recently joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley to describe the impact of abortion on women and to give tips to friends and family members that might prevent abortions.
Kuharski said she knows of a young woman raised in a Catholic family who was engaged to be married. When the woman learned she was pregnant, she told her fiancé, who said the decision was up to her. “It’s your body,” he said. Her parents told her, “You’re an adult now. You make your own decisions.”
So, she scheduled an abortion.
Kuharski asked the woman if anyone mentioned the word “abortion” to her and she said “no.”
“I figured if the people I care about the most don’t care whether I have this baby or not, I might as well just have this abortion,” the woman said.
That shows the influence people can have on pregnant women at that vulnerable time in their lives, as they seek support and direction, Kuharski said.
If a family member or friend suspects a young woman is pregnant, they can ask if there is anything going on that the woman needs help with, Kuharski said. One magic word to use is “love,” Kuharski said. “What can I do to help you, to be with you?”
Kuharski recalled a woman who had an abortion 50 years ago seeking Kuharski’s advice because her granddaughter was scheduled for an abortion at her daughter’s insistence. Kuharski said she told the woman, “Now is your time. You have to step forward and let them know the hurt that you’ve lived with for 50 years.”
The main thing to say is that help is available, Kuharski said. Prolife Across America, for one, can be reached at 800-366-7773 or at prolifeacrossamerica.org.
To learn more tips and to hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” show. It debuts at 9 p.m. Feb. 4 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. The show also airs at 1 p.m. Feb. 5 and 2 p.m. Feb. 6.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Chorbishop Sharbel Maroun of St. Maron’s Church in northeast Minneapolis, who reminds listeners of Maronite traditions and gives an update on what’s happening at St. Maron; and Angie Neumann, spiritual director at St. Joseph in West St. Paul, who provides insight on the value of spiritual directors.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at
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