The abnormal abortion

At the end of every March for Life I see them: Dozens of women in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington holding up signs that read, "I Regret My Abortion." They share their stories each year with tens of thousands of pro-life marchers -- and writers like me. They talk about the pain abortion inflicts on women. They give faces and names to an issue.

I thought of their witness when I read a recent story from People magazine listing more than 60 celebrities "who have shared their abortion stories to help women feel less alone." As I scrolled through, I spotted familiar names like Christina Applegate, Whoopi Goldberg, Britney Spears, Kerry Washington, Gloria Steinem and so many others.

National pro-life leaders noticed the story, too.

"The propaganda campaign to make the intentional killing of a preborn baby seem normal is impossible to miss," Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action, responded in a social media post. "Abortion should never be celebrated. It should be mourned. Let us pray for healing for every woman impacted by abortion, and keep working until abortion is both illegal and unthinkable."

As Hawkins said, the piece seems to frame abortion as something normal. But when I looked into celebrities' stories -- and read their direct quotes -- I saw a painful reality poking through. Many of these stars described abortion as something that tore them apart.

The piece opens with actress Christina Applegate, who found out she was pregnant in 1991. She sought an abortion after things took a "brutal turn" in an abusive relationship.

"I'm f--king pregnant and I'm killing my child on Thursday. I'm thinking where the f--k can I go to recuperate from murder," Applegate wrote in her diary, according to another, linked People story. "His family will hate me when they find out that I killed their family member because they don't believe in (abortion). But I can't have this baby because I have work to do to entertain this f--king world. Besides, I can't … now."

The second woman listed, actress Danielle Brooks, discovered she was pregnant while on Accutane to treat her acne.

"You actually have to sign something saying that you will have an abortion if you get pregnant," she said about Accutane on a podcast, People reported. "I broke down because I realized I wanted to be a mom ... it was really hard, very, very difficult to actually have an abortion. It was not what I wanted."

Further down, Britney Spears obtained an abortion after the father, Justin Timberlake, said they were not ready for a baby.

"If it had been left up to me alone, I never would have done it," the singer writes in her memoir, People reported. "To this day, it's one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life."

Yes, some celebrities said they had no regrets. But others described abortion as something they felt like they had to do because of their career or a toxic relationship. Many described it as a terrible choice that continues to haunt them.

Their stories hint at the destruction abortion poses not only for the baby but also for the mother. Just as every pregnancy involves two bodies, every abortion involves two bodies, too.

While the Church condemns abortion, it sees the women harmed by it. This is why Catholic and Christian ministries exist to offer hope and healing to women after abortion, including Silent No More Awareness Campaign, Project Rachel, Rachel's Vineyard and the Sisters of Life. This is why, in his 1995 encyclical, "Evangelium Vitae," St. John Paul II addresses women who have had abortions.

"The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision," he begins. "The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope."

He goes on to speak about God's forgiveness and mercy before encouraging women that, "With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life."

We should never think of abortion as normal because it ends the life of a baby in the womb. And we should never think of it as normal -- because it harms women, too.