Teens who get an abortion need special attention, says Thorn

Published: 2007-01-26

ARLINGTON, Va. (CNS) -- Warm chocolate chip cookies, the scents of vanilla and lavender, and chair massages make all the difference in ministering to teens who have had abortions, said Vicki Thorn, founder of Project Rachel, the post-abortion healing ministry of the Catholic Church. These methods help move teens from feeling fear to feeling someone cares about them, she said. She added that post-abortion ministry must include not just women but other family members, especially men, who should be invited to share their grief. Thorn, director of the Milwaukee-based National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing, outlined the ways that this specific line of work has changed in her 23-plus years of ministry, especially in the last one to two years. She spoke Jan. 19 in Burke Hall at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington. Her audience was lay men and women, priests and women religious, some in post-abortion healing ministry, some not.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .