Abstract

Abstract Abortion is a subject that is debated, politicized, moralized, and condemned. However, it is a fact which is at least currently sanctioned in the United States. It is also a significant event in the lives of women who must face the long-term emotional, psychological, and spiritual repercussions of what they consider a necessary decision. Many women experience the weight of this decision alone, even in the midst of financial or other kinds of physical support from family or friends, and often without the emotional support of their sexual partner. Eight women were interviewed for this look at the impact of abortion and the need for both a cultural and individual forum for healing abortion guilt and finding atonement. A case is made for the power of poetry as a succinct language of expression and the use of therapy as a relationship for discharge and supportive reflection.