Prayer for Aborted Baby

I received the following prayer request last week:

Dear friends and family,
I am sorry to be sending out a generic email, especially since I have been so out of touch. I know I owe many of you a phone call or an email.
Most of you know I work as a crisis pregnancy counselor in the South Bronx. It is a rough neighborhood with some very broken people in it. There was a woman I counseled Tuesday who came in looking for an abortion. When she left she was leaning towards keeping and was planning on going for a sonogram this Tuesday (We need more sonogram machines so they don't have to wait so long.). The baby is about 16 weeks now. She even wanted to name her August Cheyenne if it is a girl. However, I later found out from another woman in the waiting room that the grandmother, who brought her in thinking we were an abortion clinic, was livid when she found out we weren't going to "take it out". I called her today and her grandmother made an appointment for her this Saturday morning (10/6) at an unknown clinic. As I spoke with her I could easily tell this is not what she wants but feels she has no other choice. There is so much fear. She is very sweet but very weak willed.
Even though I counsel many women each week, there is something unique about this woman and child. They have affected me enough to send out this plea to you all. Please pray for her and her baby, especially Friday and Saturday. Thank you all so very much. God bless you! 

I received the following email yesterday:

 Dear friends and family,
Thank you all very much for your prayers. I was deeply touched by many of the responses I received. I am truly bless to have you in my life. Many of you asked for an update. Tragically, it appears she most likely had the abortion. We were texting back and forth on Friday about finding her a place to live (her grandmother would kick her out if she did not have the abortion) but there was no clear resolution on her part even with the promise of a home. Then I text her Saturday morning and this afternoon. I did not hear back. Which is not like her, or most girls here, to not respond to a text- especially considering the housing situation. Most of the time when there is such a sharp change in communication, this means they decided on having or had the abortion. There is a great deal of shame involved with this, so naturally it is hard for the girl to face anyone after, especially right away. Sometimes months later they return to speak with us and we are able to refer them to different healing ministries. Hopefully this will be the case with her. I will attempt to follow up with her in a month or so to offer different resources. 
I wish I was writing with better news. Please know it was not due to lack of prayers! They had an army of people praying for them. God alone knows what an impact all of those many prayers had on her and so many women contemplating abortion. We commend little August Cheyenne and this woman to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the fount of mercy and peace. God bless you all, and please know you remain in my prayers. If you ever have specific intentions, please send them my way!

I am sending the following email back to my friend who sent the email:

Hey,

I am sorry that I am so late in responding to this request.  I have been so busy with post-harvest that I am about 30 deep in email responses.  A couple of things that I want you to know from my POV:

1.  I have been praying incessantly for the proper outcome of this situation.

2.  I have been praying incessantly for the souls of the mother, child and grandmother.

3.  I have been praying incessantly for the doctors involved that they see the error.

4.  I have been praying incessantly for the over all situation to find resolution and peace.

This is hard.  I went through something similar when I was in college.  I was a sidewalk counselor for the pro-life mission at St. Thomas (MN), and I turned away several girls and women who were looking to have abortions on Ford Parkway, but I can tell you this...there were more that I didn't.  That is a burden for me.  It is something I struggle with every single day.   I understand your concern and I understand your feeling of frustration.

Please know that you're doing good.  Your words, even though they don't fall on receptive ears do make a difference.  Now, assuming that she did have the abortion, is when we really need to pray.  We need to pray for the repose of the soul of the baby.  We need to pray for the soul of the mother.  And we need to pray that she eventually can come to grips with what has transpired.  If she had the abortion, then we must do damage control spiritually.  

Participation in God's will was not done.  But God's will was done.  He will not abandon the child, but unless the child was baptized, he will be remitted to limbo.  We must pray for God's mercy.  We must pray for that child.

The mother has procured an abortion.  We know what that means and we cannot be afraid to speak about it.  We must know that she has cut herself off from God's love until such time as she is either contrite to a priest or she is perfectly contrite to God.  This transcends denomination, this speaks to divine, and eternal law.

Assuming that the abortion did take place, my prayer is now twofold:

1.  For the repose of the soul of the baby.  That God may have mercy and allow him to enter into heaven.

2.  For the soul of the mother.  Her actions have consequences and I pray that she realizes and atones for those as soon as she can.

I know that this is not an easy thing to read or to understand, but it is none-the-less true.  You are a good servant.  Your work is not unnoticed and don't stop.  Don't ever stop.  May God keep you close!

AMDG+