“The so-called right to abortion … has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. … Your decision has deformed a great nation.” — St. Teresa of Calcutta

In early July, Congress passed landmark legislation to end taxpayer funding of abortion for one year. This would deny the nation’s largest abortion chain, Planned Parenthood, more than $2 million in taxpayer dollars every single day.

While this is a short-lived but welcome victory, how do we extend such bans and drastically reduce abortion?

We need to help people see that abortion is not just a private, personal healthcare decision. When viewed through the lens of the emotional and spiritual fallout from abortion trauma, the continued acceptance and propagation of legal abortion is an existential threat to the survival of our nation.

You may be thinking, That’s just prolife hyperbole.

Research tells us that lack of sleep, poor nutrition and prolonged stress from traumatic life events compromise our immune system. This leaves us vulnerable to chronic inflammation and cancer, and weakens our immune response to dangerous external pathogens.

Can we say the same thing about a country? Might an entire nation have a type of compromised immune system? Has widespread legalized abortion contributed to some of the challenges we face as an emotionally and spiritually compromised population?

With now more than 65 million abortions in the last 52 years, there are few families that have not been directly impacted by the loss of a son or daughter, grandchild, sibling, nephew or niece.

Millions of Americans have been complicit in the death of a preborn child (e.g., paid for the procedure, pressured or encouraged an abortion, drove a friend to the abortion center, etc.). And thousands of medical and mental health professionals, educators and politicians have participated in the death of the preborn. Every taxpaying citizen has helped fund Planned Parenthood’s abortion services.

In our many years helping people across the U.S. (and around the world) who suffer emotional and spiritual pain after an abortion, we have seen the dramatic ways that abortion impacts the lives and relationships of everyone involved.

The wounds left by abortion are intimately linked to emotional and sexual intimacy, our identity as mothers/fathers, and our capacity to give love, to trust and to communicate effectively in relationships. Anxiety, depression, complicated grief, sleep disturbance and autoimmune disorders impact millions of women and men after abortion.

Every decision to have an abortion creates a collective impact on the population of that city, state or nation. From a broad perspective, then, we can say that we’re all connected to the death of preborn children.

Let’s look at the ways these festering, often deeply buried wounds, leave us vulnerable to various attacks upon our health, our families and our nation.

Often, when the topic of abortion is discussed politically or in the media, it triggers unresolved emotional pain for people who have either experienced the procedure, or were closely associated with the abortion event. Many deny or suppress the deep emotional pain and spiritual injuries that followed, and want to avoid the issue at all costs. Without healing, others will be driven to aggressively defend the right to abortion, feeling emotionally threatened, and highly reactive, to those trying to protect the lives of preborn children.

Over time, this has contributed to the sad reality that since 1973, we have become an increasingly divided nation. Political discourse has metastasized into a poisonous partisanship, pitting neighbor against neighbor, even dividing family members. Studies reveal a record-high percentage of U.S. adults who recognize that we are deeply divided on our most important values.

In addition, more than 65 million abortions have taken a toll on our health, relationships and our very identity as women and men. While not the only factor, it has contributed in a significant way to some key challenges facing our nation.

Many families have been shocked to see the rapid advance of the transgender movement. Like a compromised immune system, parents, educators, counselors and medical professionals find themselves weak and defenseless in combating this attack upon our most vulnerable youth and young adults. Even worse, they may passively enable, or actively facilitate, this madness.

Dr. Kathleen “Kelly” Levinstein, PhD, is a professor of social work at the University of Michigan, Flint. Levinstein’s daughter, who is on the autism spectrum, started attending a local trans advocacy group. Members connected her to a gender therapist. After only two sessions, this “therapist” gave a green light for her daughter to undergo a bilateral mastectomy. Dr. Levinstein laments, “Healthy organs were amputated.”

We have failed miserably as a society to protect our most vulnerable minors and young adults from the scourge of internet pornography. Research indicates children are being exposed to porn between the ages of 8 and 12 with the proliferation of smartphones and tablets among our youth. In one study of U.S. college men, researchers found that 83% reported seeing mainstream pornography.

Porn serves as the sex education for many young people. And what do they learn? The soul-corrupting content often features aggression, violence, and demonic degradation of women. Over time, porn disfigures the beautiful gift of emotional and sexual intimacy.

Are we a healthier nation since 1973?

In the last 50 years, obesity rates have tripled, accompanied by related health care problems like diabetes and heart disease. Opioid addiction and mental health problems, especially among young people, are at shocking levels.

A Healthy Way Forward

An important step to restore national health will be a renewed commitment by our churches, politicians and citizens to educate the public about the deeper impact of abortion and the importance of healing our national abortion trauma. Many of our fellow citizens would benefit from participating in an abortion healing program.

Women and men, spouses and parents, are strengthened when they are open to repentance and healing. Healing strengthens our marriages and families. And healthy, stable families lead to healthier, happier children. With that strong foundation, our communities and nation will be better protected against spiritual and physical threats like transgender ideology.

If we fail to reconcile and heal from this national tragedy, we will see our nation become increasingly divided, emotionally and physically sick, and vulnerable to internal and external attacks.

Theresa Burke, Ph.D., and Kevin Burke, MSS, are pastoral associates of Priests for Life and co-founders of Rachel’s Vineyard.