By Victor Ajluni, M. D.
for Catholic Stand
On the day I graduated from medical school, I took an oath that includes the famous words: “First do no harm.” I am happy to say that in entering my twentieth year as a physician, I have somehow managed to keep my word. But, is that really enough? I don’t think so. In fact, it seems to me that the focus of each physician on his or her subspecialty sells our patients short. If you will, it leads to a very real risk of missing the forest for the trees. In our troubled times, the best medicine that we can provide often does not come in a bottle. Unbeknownst to one of my patients, this fact would have eternal consequences.
When I looked at my schedule on that Tuesday morning, I didn’t see anything unusual. People were coming in for the usual issues-depression, anxiety disorders and other run of the mill problems for a psychiatrist. But, then she came in and sat down in my office-a new patient. She was young, sad and visibly uncomfortable in her own skin. It was my job to find out why.
The regret for something she had done was becoming unbearable. It was what came after that admission that changed the tone of our meeting. She told me that she is a Catholic. She sends her son to Catholic school. She goes to Mass. Yet, she had this burden of shame and regret that was eating away at her slowly and painfully. She told me how her young son would always ask her why she would not go to Holy Communion with him. What could she say? She couldn’t tell him what she had done. But, she now understood that she had to tell someone. She began to tell me, through tear soaked eyes that she had an abortion a couple of years earlier. The sadness was overwhelming and eating her up inside.
Are you suffering the effects of an abortion? Here are a few hotline numbers you can call for help.
OptionLine: 800-712-HELP
Rachel's Vineyard: 877 HOPE 4 ME (877 467 3463) or www.rachelsvineyard.org
National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing: 800-5WE-CARE
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