Vote No Campaign Hosts ‘Hear Our Voices’ Event
The Save Babies, Vote No Campaign hosted an online event yesterday evening with women from Gibraltar and abroad "who have been through abortion and regret it.”
Organisers say that the event, which was streamed live on Facebook was attended by over 200 people and “provided a unique opportunity for viewers to hear first-hand the negative experience that abortion is for many women.” Some women appeared on the event, some were represented by other women here in Gibraltar who read their stories.
Speaking after the event, host Karenza Morillo said:
"The focus of the meeting was on post abortion recovery and healing. It's not something we hear a lot about in the media and when the voices of women who regret their abortions are suppressed, it’s not surprising that people can assume that adverse effects of abortion don’t exist. It takes phenomenal courage to challenge this portrayal and to tell a deeply personal story.
"We commend the women who joined our meeting yesterday evening. By speaking up, they have provided encouragement and hope to other women and are ensuring that the truth about the negative impact of abortion comes out. For this, we are immensely grateful to them and owe them a huge debt of gratitude."
Stephanie Yeo who hosted a panel discussion with Rachel Mackenzie and Bernadette Goulding said:
"I had heard about the issue of abortion regret of course but I had never heard first hand experiences like we have just had. It’s so difficult to understand why we don’t hear more about this side of the story. And most importantly women need to hear about hope and help and healing after abortion."
Miss Yeo emphasised the need for pro-life people to get involved in supporting women in unplanned pregnancy and after abortion.
She said: "We are asking people to vote No to abortion on 24th June but we are also asking them to join us in our support work with mothers and families in Gibraltar and we thank those volunteers who are already working with us”
Karenza Morillo gave viewers details on peer-reviewed research that supports the stories shared by the women during the event. She said:
"A comprehensive study from researcher, Professor David Fergusson and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that abortion has adverse mental health consequences for women. It’s important that we have all the facts to hand when we are discussing these issues.”
She thanked the participants and viewers and concluded the online event by encouraging people to talk to friends and family about the issue of abortion regret and ensure they are fully informed before they vote on 24th June.
The event can be watched back on the GPLM Facebook page here
