At least 55 million American babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade was decided 45 years ago. Two of those babies are the children of Frank Branson, who emotionally tells viewers the Save the Storks Father’s Day Campaign video series, “I’m the father of five, but only got to raise three of them.”

Frank is one of five men who are telling their stories in advance of Father’s Day. He spoke exclusively to me about the abortions, his attempts at drug-and-alcohol-induced “self-medication” to overcome the grief surrounding his parents’ divorce and the abortions, and where he is now.

“I grew up in the Methodist church,” Frank said. “My parents divorced at the end of my senior year in high school, wrecking my and my brother’s lives.” He dealt with this wreckage by going to college, leaving “any religious affiliation,” and becoming “mad at God.”

According to Frank, he was “rebelling against anything but fun times and partying.” And while he is now 61, “an ordinated pastor with Marriage and Family ministry,” and 32 years married with children, he is still coming to terms with his post-abortive grief. 

 

Two Women, Two Lost Children

Frank said that the children he lost to abortion were killed without his support. “I didn’t want the first abortion; I was a paralyzed, young, self-focused guy with no clue what to do but to become passive with no plan of action.” 

“She wanted no one to know about it. The girl took action on her own, not wanting to be pregnant at that point in her life. The second [woman] didn’t let me know she was pregnant until after she had an abortion.”

“I never supported the abortions,” Frank reiterated. “The first one happened because I didn’t do anything to oppose it. I had immediate anguish when she told me that she had done it. The second one was a complete surprise, and doubled my grief.” 
 
Frank declined to provide more detail about the abortions to respect the privacy of the women who had them. “I have no relationship with either woman now. My other children are with my wife of 32 years.”

A spokesperson for Save the Storks said that “the hardest step” in producing the Father’s Day Campaign “was finding men who were willing to share their very personal abortion experiences.” Frank said that he was “awakened” five years ago “to reveal my abortions secrets.” 

 “This video series is another step” in the “journey” towards being “healed from the hidden shame and guilt, and [to] help others be healed.”

 

Healing From Pain

“My parents’ divorce caused a new pain that I had never known,” Frank explained. “Self-medication became my way to mask the pain. The lifestyle of partying, drinking, and sex was my substitute for a peaceful, virtue-grounded life.” 
 
“It took decades for me to acknowledge the damage my secret drinking was doing. And then with my marriage about to break, I prayed to be released from the grip my idol, alcohol, had on my life. From that prayer forward I have never touched alcohol, nor been tempted to do so.” 
 
Frank also explained that he has “not had a chance” discuss the abortions with the women who had them. He has, however, “had good, hard, healing discussions with my wife, children and mother about the abortions.”  

 

A Message for Fathers

When asked what his Father’s Day message is for post-abortive fathers, Frank said:

You are a father of a child, or children, that you have not been able to love and care for while on earth. However, you can live your life in such a way that you can honor your never-born children, letting them become an enduring part of your healing, your hope, your life, and a gift of those things to others.