After the plane lands

I woke up feeling angry…

Abortion is not empowerment.

It is the exploitation of women in their most vulnerable moments.

The reality that one in four women will face abortion in her lifetime reveals not strength, but how many women are left afraid, pressured, and unsupported.

Instead of standing with women—

instead of empowering them to choose life, instead of supporting them through fear and uncertainty—

Abortion capitalizes on crisis.

It preys on panic.

It feeds the lie that a woman is incapable, unprepared, or alone.

It amplifies fear and hopelessness, then offers abortion as relief

and dares to call it choice.

This year, I watched several women—overwhelmed, afraid, and emotionally fragile—travel out of state for abortions.

Women I knew well.

Women I deeply love.

The pressure was intense.

The fear was consuming.

They were not seeking freedom.

They were seeking escape from fear.

And in a fleeting moment of despair, the abortion industry exploited their distress.

Both women came to me immediately after their abortions— as soon as their plane landed.

Both broke down in my arms, sobbing,

“What have I done?”

I wept with them.

I could not undo the decision.

I could not erase the pain.

But it confirmed what I already knew.

The abortion industry does not pause for reflection.

It does not screen for emotional instability or crisis.

It does not ask whether a woman is truly free to choose.

They don’t know her.

They don’t plan to walk with her afterward.

They won’t be there when grief sets in

and the weight of the decision crashes down.

They take the money

and move on.

Her pain is ignored.

Her loss is dismissed.

And that should anger us.

A righteous anger burns—

because women deserve better.

But Agape will be there.

We will walk with these women.

We will love them and weep with them.

We will pay for professional counseling

and remain present through the long work of healing after abortion.

This is what real love looks like.

This is what pro-abundant life means.

Scripture is clear:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

Women are scared.

They are confused.

And the abortion industry exploits that fear.

But Jesus came that we may have life—

and have it abundantly.

We will help these women gather the shattered pieces of their hearts

and lay them at the foot of the cross.

Where shame says unforgivable,

Christ declares forgiven.

We cannot heal their wounds.

But we will never stop pointing them to the One who can.

And I will continue to speak up—

for the voiceless, for those exploited in their vulnerability.

I will speak up for the unborn and for women, because true pro-abundant life protects both.

AnnMarie Gustke- Executive Director, Agape Women’s Center