Podcast Summary: Focus on the Family with Jim Daly

Episode: Finding Healing After an Abortion
Date: October 30, 2025
Guest: Camille Cates

Episode Overview

This episode addresses the complex and often painful journey women and men may experience following an abortion. Jim Daly, John Fuller, and guest Camille Cates discuss Camille's powerful personal story of loss, trauma, and ultimately redemptive healing in Christ after abortion. The conversation offers Biblical wisdom, personal insight, and practical encouragement for those grappling with past abortion decisions or seeking to support someone through similar challenges.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Abortion as a Cultural and Personal Issue

• Prevalence and Pain: Jim Daly highlights the widespread reality of abortion ("one in four women have had an abortion in the United States" [01:50]) and stresses the emotional and spiritual woundedness many experience afterward.
• The Importance of Support: Focus on the Family’s long-standing efforts (like Option Ultrasound) to support pregnant women and provide resources for those healing after abortion.

Camille’s Story: Upbringing and First Pregnancy

• Faith Background: Raised in a Christian home, Camille shares she truly met Jesus at age 12 but lacked discipleship through her teenage years ([04:25]).
• First Pregnancy at 16: Despite her mother suggesting an abortion, Camille says, “I want to keep my baby and I'm safe” ([09:28]). Her parents, initially shocked, ultimately support her.

Lessons for Parents and the Value of Open Conversations

• Ongoing Talks, Not Just ‘The Talk’: Camille emphasizes, “It really needs to be an ongoing conversation” about relationships and sexuality, cautioning that cultural voices are louder than ever ([06:53]).
• Parent Perspective: Jim Daly notes the importance of reinforcing God’s order: finish school, get married, then have children ([08:01]).

Tragedy and Trauma: Loss and Abortion

• Second Pregnancy and Loss: Camille, pregnant again at 17, suffers the traumatic death of her daughter Lauren, killed by Camille’s then-boyfriend ([11:16]). Grieving, she is urged by her parents to have an abortion, which she does four days after the funeral ([13:33]).
• Rationalizing in Trauma: “My theology started to shift a little bit... God’s gonna make this okay just this one time” ([12:34]), describing the real mental and spiritual wrestling during trauma.

Grief, Guilt, and the Long Road to Healing

• Despair and Brokenness: Camille describes compounded grief and deep despair after the abortion—“going home and just laying down in bed at night and praying that God would just take me” ([13:49]).
• Escaping Pain: She turned to drugs, alcohol, and unhealthy relationships, describing a life “spiraled for a good couple of years” ([13:49]).

Turning Point and Surrender to God

• Encounter with God: Camille recalls a decisive moment of surrender—“I have chased every single relationship in my life but the one I have with you. And I am done, and I'm ready to pursue this life with you” ([15:25]).
• Healing Process: “Being able to exchange that guilt for his righteousness... to walk in that newness of life is really incredible” ([17:25]).

Practical Pastoral Guidance on Guilt and God’s Forgiveness

• Addressing Lingering Guilt: Camille urges, “We have got to bring this into the light” and offers hope to those believing God could never forgive them ([19:24]).
• No Sin Too Great: She insists on Christ’s sufficiency—“Jesus went to the cross to die for all sin. So when we don't receive that, it's like we're telling Jesus what you did wasn't good enough” ([17:25]).

Marriage and Acceptance

• Redemptive Love: Camille shares how her now-husband Troy responded to her past: “I know about your abortion and I love you anyway” ([20:24]), which powerfully reillustrated the gospel to her ([21:25]).

Men and Abortion: Overlooked Grief

• Impact on Men: Camille recounts a story about a man carrying the abortion receipt for decades, highlighting that abortion wounds men deeply, too ([22:24]).

Grace for Parents and the Role of the Church

• What Parents Should Say: Camille’s advice is simple but profound:

  “We love you, we love you, we love you. We love your baby. You know, we're going to get through this together. And Jesus loves you. And, you know, no matter how this happened, this baby is a gift from God. So how can we steward this pregnancy to the glory of God?” ([25:07])

• The Church’s Response: Encourage openness and compassion—more stories of “brokenness and redemption” would change how we view and discuss abortion ([19:24]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On parental support and perspective:

  “Even if you have sex outside of marriage, if you get pregnant, that baby, being pregnant with that baby is not a sin.” – Camille Cates ([08:31])

• On trauma and decision-making:

  “There's so much trauma that can be surrounding that decision that just makes it that much harder for them.” – Camille Cates ([12:34])

• On Jesus’ forgiveness:

  “Some people get so stuck in feeling like God could never forgive them. But Jesus went to the cross to die for all sin.” – Camille Cates ([17:25])

• A message for parents:

  “We love you, we love you, we love you. We love your baby... this baby is a gift from God.” – Camille Cates ([25:07])

• On the church’s opportunity:

  “I'm hoping that we can speak in such a way on this topic where people who are sitting in the pew find that hope and healing in Christ.” – Camille Cates ([23:34])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:18] – Abortion’s impact, national statistics, and support efforts
• [04:25] – Camille’s Christian upbringing and first pregnancy
• [06:53] – Advice for parents on ongoing conversations
• [10:00] – Parenting support during teenage pregnancy
• [11:16] – Tragedy: Loss of daughter and subsequent abortion
• [13:33] – Emotional aftermath; compounded grief
• [15:25] – Surrender and beginning of healing
• [17:25] – Biblical counsel on guilt and forgiveness
• [20:24] – Camille’s husband’s acceptance and the power of grace
• [22:24] – Effects of abortion on men
• [25:07] – Practical advice for parents during a crisis pregnancy

Key Takeaways

• Redemption is Possible: No matter how profound the pain, Camille’s testimony is about God’s willingness and power to heal the deepest wounds.
• Guilt and Sorrow Must Be Brought to God: Lasting release and healing only happen when we “exchange that guilt for his righteousness.”
• The Role of Compassionate Community: Parents, church communities, and friends must lead with grace, love, and unwavering support.
• Men Suffer Too: The emotional consequences of abortion are not limited to women—men carry this grief as well.
• Ongoing Honest Conversation: Addressing sexuality, relationships, and mistakes requires regular, grace-drenched conversations anchored in truth.

This episode stands as a compassionate, honest, and biblically rooted resource for anyone navigating the aftermath of abortion or supporting someone on that journey.