Denise Mountenay believes she is just an “ordinary voice” whom God is using “to be a light” to society when talking about abortion, an issue that has deeply affected her.
Mountenay was the guest speaker during Moose Jaw Right to Life’s (MJRTL) annual banquet on April 21 at Church of Our Lady (COOL) Parish.
Nearly 200 people heard the bestselling author and international speaker discuss her “A Mess to a Message” story and how she has used her experiences to help men and women suffering from post-abortive trauma.
“I know that God wants women to go public (about their painful abortion experiences). When He wanted me to go public, I couldn’t believe it,” Mountenay said. “I was like, ‘Lord, are you kidding?’ I was 30 years old. I was a baby Christian.
“I was at a women’s (Christian group) meeting and that’s when I got the revelation that abortion killed my children,” she continued, “that they were not clumps of tissue like they told me, that these were my own flesh and blood.”
Mountenay’s story began when she was 13 years old. She was attending a sleepover at a girlfriend’s house when the friend’s brother raped her and stole her virginity. That affected her self-worth, while she feared no man would ever love her.
At 16, she discovered she was pregnant because she and a boyfriend had been intimate. Her mother said she should have “this operation,” which would allow her to “get on with life.”
“I was never informed about anything … . After that, I just tried to forget about it and get on with my life,” she said. “And like many women, I started drinking more and looking for love in all the wrong places.”
Mountenay’s second pregnancy — and abortion — came at age 26. When her boyfriend learned she was pregnant, he screamed at her to abort the child.
She went to her doctor, who said the fetus was just “a dot on the page.” He sent her to a clinic in Buffalo, New York. Again, there was no informed consent, nor did anyone explain the risks to her.
“When it was my turn to go in, I will never forget the trauma because I was wide awake,” Mountenay said emotionally. “I remember crying and begging him, ‘Stop it, stop it,’ because I changed my mind … . And he said, ‘No, too late, too late.’
“And I felt like was I was being raped again. … When it was over, I curled up into a fetal position on that table and I couldn’t talk. It was like I went into some kind of shock.”
Mountenay later developed an infection and severe depression while she drank heavily. She later had a third abortion after a random drunken hookup.
In 1987 at age 30, she accepted Jesus Christ as her saviour and felt free because she had confessed her abortions. Meanwhile, she wondered who would want to marry her, but she eventually found a man and they married in 1991; they had one son.
“Abortion is the greatest crime against humanity in our generation … ,” she said. “Science says that when a woman is pregnant, there’s another little body inside her body.”
Mountenay then presented some statistics about how abortion negatively affects women’s physical and mental health.
She noted that several medical journals have connected breast cancer to induced abortions. This includes a 1957 Japanese study and a Chinese study that found one abortion leads to a 44-per-cent increase in cancer. Further, one abortion leads to a 52 per cent chance of a premature baby.
“Our voices need to be heard for such a time as this because abortion is murder (and) … ,” Mountenay added. “It’s time for change.”
Jean Landry, MJRTL president, thought Mountenay’s talk was powerful and left one speechless. She was also humbled and overwhelmed that hundreds of people attended.
“(I’m) just so glad to have seen so many young people (attend) because they’re the ones that need to hear this message,” she added.
For post-abortive care, contact Regina’s Options Pregnancy at 306-757-1371.
