From abortion to teaching post-abortive healing
When Victoria Robinson was in her 20s she had an abortion.
That day at the clinic the doctor told her she wasn’t very far along, just 6-8 weeks, and her baby was a “clump of tissue” at that point. No harm, no foul.
She says that no one at the clinic seemed interested in her life circumstances or that she was in an abusive relationship.
“The abortion clinic workers convinced me that another child would ruin my life,” she said. No one offered any other options. They only seemed to care that I had the $350 for the procedure.”
Fast forward 10 years later long after she had left her abusive relationship and was now a worship leader at her church with four young daughters.
“I would always think to myself if ‘abortion’ was tattooed on my forehead would they kick me off of this stage? Would they even let me sing these songs? I was terrified of them knowing my secret,” Robinson said. “I was drowning in my sorrow.”
Yet, try as she might to forget it, her past and the topic of abortion kept appearing in her life.
Recurring themes
For three years, the director of the local PRC, Mary, who also happened to attend the same church as Victoria, kept trying to get her to volunteer at the center. Victoria also noticed that every time she would lead worship at a women’s conference someone would always come up to her after and tell her their story of having had an abortion. Pastor’s wives, doctor’s wives, judges, women from all backgrounds.
“I’d pray with them and then I would cry out to God and ask why he wasn’t helping me,” she said.
Then one day it all shifted for her. A woman came up to Robinson and asked for prayer because she was still heartbroken from an abortion she had had 27 years ago.
“I saw her healed in that moment and somehow that was it for me,” she said. “I called Mary after that and told her I was ready to come volunteer.”
Next Steps
Robinson went through the volunteer training at the pregnancy center. Part of the training included learning about the different embryonic stages of a baby. She and the other volunteers stood looking at a model of a plastic replica of the fetus at each stage of development.
“I looked at the stage for 6-8 weeks and it took everything in me not to break down,” she said.
Robinson went home after that and sat in her car for two hours sobbing. She was in her car for so long that her daughter came out to the car, worried.
“Mommy, what’s wrong? Did someone die?” her daughter asked her.
For years Robinson had convinced herself that if she told the people she loved most that she had an abortion, they would hate her. But in that moment she told her daughter the truth.
“My beautiful daughter held me and said ‘mommy Jesus forgives you and I forgive you. You’re such a good mom.’ The grace and mercy she showed me were the same I felt from Jesus,” she said.
Robinson finally had the breakthrough she had been praying for all those years.
“I went to Mary, and I told her I had had an abortion, and she said ‘I know. I’ve been waiting for you to tell me. Now we’re going to get you into post-abortion counseling and God is going redeem your life.’’’
Not long after that talk, Robinson went through a post-abortive counseling class at Mary’s PRC and it changed everything for her.
“Now over a decade later, I conduct and teach those same post-abortion recovery retreats for women like me. To remind them that there is life after abortion,” she said.
Post-Abortive Healing
In addition to teaching these classes and retreats, Robinson also travels around the country speaking at different conferences and events telling her story.
I want to help other women know the truth about choice. That real choice is being provided at pregnancy resource centers. And I also want women everywhere to know that God forgives everything, even abortion.”
Watch more of Victoria’s Story here and here.
Learn more about post-abortive counseling and how you can connect and find help in your area through Option Line. They provide after abortion support here: https://optionline.org/after-abortion-support
