Toni Braxton Blames Abortion, God For Son’s Autism
Star Toni Braxton has faced her share of trials, but in her new memoir, Unbreak My Heart, the R&B songstress reveals that an abortion during one of her roughest periods is (she believes) the reason her son was born autistic.
While Toni Braxton has dominated the charts with hits like “You’re Makin’ Me High” and “Unbreak My Heart,” she’s also battled financial and interpersonal stressors such as bankruptcy and relationship strife.
However, Braxton says, an abortion she had years ago is one major thing that haunts her.
In the tell-all memoir, she explains that she underwent a termination of her pregnancy years ago due to the fact she’d been on Accutane when she became pregnant.
While many drugs are thought to be potentially harmful to a fetus, Accutane in particular is one that is associated with a specific and devastating birth defect. Prescribed for acne, patients treated with the drug are generally heavily advised of the teratogenic effects of the medication and advised not to become pregnant while being treated.
Of the painful decision to abort, Braxton explains in her book:
“I was suddenly faced with a choice I’d never thought I’d have to make. Amid my major misgivings about abortion, I eventually made the gut-wrenching decision.”
Toni adds:
“In my heart, I believed I had taken a life — an action that I thought God might one day punish me for.”
And that punishment, the singer believes, came in the form of her son Diezel’s autism. In a claim likely to offend both women’s health advocates and parents of children diagnosed with the condition, Braxton explains her shame-based logic on the matter following her toddler’s diagnosis in 2006:
“My initial rage was quickly followed by another strong emotion: guilt.”
Braxton then directly blames her medically advisable abortion for Diezel’s diagnosis, in a manner that is likely to be painful for parents of kids with autism to read or hear”
“I knew I’d taken a life— so I believed God’s payback was to give my son autism.”
Another trial Braxton details is her painful struggle with lupus, to which she counters:
“I’m not a victim of lupus— I’m an overcomer… Why should I allow what others might say to keep me from declaring that victory? I shouldn’t.”
Even believers are balking at Braxton’s abortion statement, commenting:
Toni Braxton: I thought son’s autism was God’s punishment for my previous #abortion (No! God forgives, loves, heals) http://t.co/eeJD6hWWRc
— Ben Johnson (@TheRightsWriter) May 19, 2014
In the clip above, Toni Braxton discusses her religious upbringing — a factor that may have led to her feelings on abortion and God’s wrath.
