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Abortion hurts women, mentally, physically and emotionally, a representative of San Antonio Coalition for Life said Monday at the Catholic Student Center.
Amber Delaney, 37, a registered nurse, and a member of the board of directors of the San Antonio Coalition for Life, said that after having an abortion, at 19, she could no longer have children.
After a woman has had an abortion, she may experience anxiety, depression or become suicidal or infertile right after the procedure or years later, Delaney said.
Delaney also said that, in retrospect, it wasn't until years after she had an abortion that she realized she was behaving destructively.
She had become promiscuous and was in a relationship with a man twice her age.
Delaney went over the reasons women might want to have an abortion.
"Some women are coerced into it or think they'll be helping someone by having an abortion - a boyfriend who is going to school or parents who are freaking out - or because they have been raped. Some women also use abortion as a form of contraception," Delaney said.
She is promoting support for 40 Days for Life, a national campaign going on in more than 200 cities.
Participants target clinics that do abortions. The local coalition has been congregating at the Planned Parenthood clinic at 104 Babcock Road from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. since Feb. 25 and will continue until April 5.
The coalition focuses on praying, fasting, reaching out to the community and holding a vigil outside the clinic.
"Things have been getting pretty aggressive. They have a cop on duty now. We had encounters with protesters last Saturday. They've been getting angry because we've been hitting their pocketbooks," Delaney said.
The coalition has 50 trained "sidewalk" counselors who try to convince women and men walking into the clinic to not go through with having an abortion.
She also said there has been good dialogue outside the clinic with people in the community who had no idea the clinic performed abortions.
Others have said women having abortions is none of their business.
Delaney converted from being raised Southern Baptist to Catholicism in 2000.
U.S. bishops put together a healing ministry called the Rachel Project, which provides counseling for post-abortive women. It is conducted in a private setting.
For information on the Rachel Project, call 342-HOPE or visit rachel@anewchoice.org.
For information on the San Antonio Coalition for Life go to www.40daysforlife.com/sanantonio.
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