Ravi Zacharias Pressured Me to Get an Abortion

Show Transcript

Today, she’s a retired police officer with 34 years of distinguished service. But in 1974, she was a scared, pregnant teenager. And she says Ravi Zacharias pressured her to get an abortion.

On this edition of The Roys Report, Julie speaks with Shirley Steward, who says when she was 17, she became pregnant with the child of Ravi Zacharias’ younger brother, Ramesh Zacharias. Distraught and scared, Steward said the two sought advice from Ravi, who at the time was an up-and-coming preacher in the Toronto church they both attended. To her shock, Steward says Ravi urged her to get an abortion.

For all these years, Steward says she’s lived with not only the devastating consequences of her decision, but with the shame of being called a liar when she’s tried to expose Ravi for what he did.

On this episode, you’ll hear Steward’s gut-wrenching story. You’ll also hear how Ravi responded to Steward’s accusation in a personal letter to her.

And hopefully, we’ll all gain a better understanding and compassion for the vulnerable who sometimes become casualties of the vain aspirations of others. 

Show Transcript

SPEAKERS

JULIE ROYS, SHIRLEY STEWARD

JULIE ROYS  00:04

Today she’s a retired Ontario police officer with 34 years of distinguished service. But in 1974, she was a scared pregnant teenager. And she says Ravi Zacharias pressured her to get an abortion. Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys. And today we’re going to be discussing a tragic story that happened nearly 50 years ago. It involves a woman named Shirley Steward, who was dating Ramesh Zacharias, Ravi Zacharias’ brother. The two were sexually active and as often happens in these situations Shirley got pregnant. And what happened next is absolutely heartbreaking. According to Shirley, she and Ramesh went to Ravi Zacharias for advice. Ravi was an up and coming preacher at the time and Ramesh was his younger brother. Shirley attended the church where Ravi would often come and speak. And both she and Remesh looked up to Ravi. But Shirley says the advice Ravi gave was not only shocking, it led to the death of her unborn child. And it’s affected the entirety of Shirley Steward’s life. I read Shirley’s account about a year ago. It was published in a blog called The Spiritual Sounding Board, and it ravaged me. Just totally broke my heart. But I know many people will say, “Why hear this story now? What good can it do, Ravi’s gone?” I understand these objections. I do. But I also feel a great deal of compassion for all the women who have been victimized by Ravi Zacharias. Also, if Ravi’s predatory behavior was just an anomaly, maybe we could just move on. But friends, it’s not. We have scores of Christian leaders preying on the vulnerable and it’s not okay. And it’s not going to stop until the Christian community listens to the victims and begins to develop compassion for the victims and begins to understand the behavior of these wolves in sheep’s clothing. Another reason I wanted to record a podcast with Shirley is because I want you to hear from her directly. I often say there’s a credibility in victim’s voices. You can tell if they’re lying or telling the truth. So I’m going to give you the opportunity to judge for yourself. I think this is a very important podcast and I’m so glad that you’ve taken the time to join me and to listen to Shirley Steward’s story. But before I speak with Shirley, I want to thank the sponsors of this podcast, Judson University, and Marquardt of Barrington. Judson is a top ranked Christian university providing a caring community where students can thrive and grow. The school offers more than 60 majors, great leadership opportunities and strong financial aid. Judson is located on a beautiful