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I may have knee-jerk reactions to what seem like lame excuses for taking a human life, but I cannot deny the sincerity of this Planned Parenthood employee. I never imagined I'd leave an abortion clinic feeling good, but I did in a sad and hopeful sort of way. My heart was filled with pain over the children whose lives end in that place and their mothers who'll grieve silently forever, yet a prayer of thanks stirred in me because a br /idge of humanity was built across the great divide of pro-life and pro-choice.

Abortion is the tragic ending of a precious life, but when I think of people who choose or perform this death act, rather than feeling hate or condescension, I get a lump of love in my throat, with a longing to hug them, and pray, "Father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing." Technically, some of them know exactly what they're doing and may even flaunt it as their right. But remember those who cheered and jeered during the Lord's crucifixion. They were the very ones Jesus asked his Father to forgive.

Jemila Monroe lives with her family in New Jersey where she is enrolled in a clinical pastoral education program.

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More on the theology of apology includes:

All Apologies | Are today's kinda culpas more safe than sorry? (July 14, 2004)

So I'm Sorry Already | What do you say after you say "I'm sorry"? By Frederica Mathewes-Green (April 6, 1998)

Christianity Today sister publication Marriage Partnership has frequently discussed apologies on an interpersonal level.

Those interested in church apologies will want to read Mary Ann Glendon's "Contrition in the Age of Spin Control," which appeared in the November 1997 issue of First Things, and Avery Dulles's "Should the Church Repent?" which appeared in the December 1998 issue.

More on abortion is available on our Life Ethics page.

Other Christianity Today articles in which apologies are offered on the behalf of others include:

Disciples of Christ Board Apologizes For Not Doing More to Oppose Slavery | Move comes as denomination considers asking U.S. government to apologize. (May 10, 2001)

Norway's Lutherans Apologize to Gypsies | Church asks forgiveness for "the injustices and infringements" committed against the Romany people. (Dec. 8, 2000)

Catholics Apologize to Portugal's Jews | Peace Conference in Lisbon ends with an apology, and a document denouncing 'religious' wars. (Oct. 6, 2000)

Reconciliation Walk: Apology Crusaders to Enter Israel | Since 1996, evangelicals from the United States and Europe have participated in the Reconciliation Walk to the Middle East in order to apologize face to face to local Muslims and Christians for the atrocities committed by Western Crusaders 900 years ago. (April 5, 1999)

Me? Apologize for Slavery? | I may not have owned slaves, but I've benefited from their having been used. (Oct. 5, 1998)

Christians Retrace Crusaders' Steps | The 2,000-mile, three-year walk across Europe, through the Balkans and Turkey, then south to Jerusalem, seeks to build br /idges of understanding and to reverse a legacy of animosity among three of the world's most prominent religions. (Oct. 7, 1996)

Other apologies include:

Graham Laments '72 Comments on Jews | Jewish leaders seek meeting before June outreach. (April 03, 2002)

Weblog: Falwell Apologizes For Calling Muhammad a Terrorist | Falwell apologizes amid calls for his death (Oct. 14, 2002)

At Historic Service, Polish Church Leaders Ask Pardon For Past Mistakes | Catholic, Orthodox, and Lutheran heads apologize for egoism and indifference. (March 13, 2000)

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November 2004, Vol. 48, No. 11