Milwaukee Conference Draws International Speakers to Explore Spiritual and Emotional Healing after Abortion
Oct. 6, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dealing with grief and need for spiritual and emotional healing after an abortion is the subject of an upcoming international conference in Milwaukee October 26-29. The Healing Vision conference is being organized by the National Office of Post Abortion Reconciliation with support from the Knights of Columbus, Our Sunday Visitor Institute and Marquette University. The conference will feature medical experts, academic researchers, and those in ministry presenting on the topic of the emotional, spiritual and psychological effects of abortion. In the United States, more than 50 million abortions have been performed since the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. Women and men alike often grapple with grief and other issues following the abortion of their child. The Healing Vision conference will bring together international experts to share their research and visions for healing of those affected. Among the presenters on the aftermath of abortion in women will be Professor Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University; Dr. Patricia Casey, a psychiatrist from Ireland; Dr. Monique Chireau, an Ob/Gyn at Duke University Medical School; Kathleen Gray, a registered nurse, author and co-founder of the Centre for Reproductive Loss in Montreal, Canada; and Dr. Anne Speckhard of Georgetown University Medical School. Addressing the effects of abortion on men will be Dr. Catherine Coyle, co-director of the Alliance for Post-Abortion Research and Training and an associate of the International Forgiveness Institute, in Madison WI.; Dr. Vincent Rue, Director of the Institute for Pregnancy Loss in Jacksonville, Fl.; William Zimmerman, author ofDearest Angel: A Father's Post-Abortion Journal of Hurt and Healing; and Greg Hasek, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and professor in the Graduate Counseling Program at George Fox University in Newberg, OR. Other notable speakers will include Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas; Dr. Gregory Lester, a psychologist and author of Power with People: How to Handle Just About Anyone to Accomplish Just About Anything. Hosting the conference is Vicki Thorn, founder of Project Rachel, the official ministry of the Catholic Church in the United States for those affected by abortion. Vicki is also Executive Director of the Milwaukee-based National Office of Post Abortion Reconciliation and Healing. "The grief and pain that so many parents feel after abortion is both very real and seldom talked about," according to Vicki Thorn. "Health professionals, those in ministry, and all of us who have dealt with someone working through their pain following an abortion know the importance of sharing paths to healing with those affected. This conference is designed to be just such an exploration." The conference will be held at the Radisson Hotel Milwaukee West. For more information or to register, visit www.healingvision.info. WASHINGTON,
