I handed literature to a young lady, the passenger, as she and her friend entered the parking lot at the abortion center today. I let her know that we were there to help and asked her, "Are you considering an abortion?" She replied with a rather embarrassed denial, "Oh, no!" I continued, "Well, that's what they do here, abortions."

I noticed the demeanor of the driver change almost instantly. The car pulled forward, but very slowly and continued slowly to round the corner of the parking lot. The car pulled into a spot on the other side of the abortion center, in perfect position for me to see two things: the young lady (L) looking at the literature and her friend (G) gesticulating almost wildly, certainly with some anger. The car remained parked as I continued to pray.

After about five minutes, the car started up again and G and L rounded the corner. This time, G began to call out to me, even before she got near the driveway, "God Bless you! God Bless you! I had no idea what this place was!"

I talked to the two for a few more moments - L was a bit quiet, but seemed at peace. G assured me, she would do whatever she needed to do to help her friend, even adopting the child.

We often don't know what happens when they leave, but at least I know that that baby did not die today and all I had to do was be there and say, "Are you considering an abortion?" This is the second time in a month that merely informing the driver led to a dramatic change in outcomes.

submitted by Michael Rankin
Catholic Pro-Life Committee Sidewalk Counselor
July 24, 2006

Labels: Sidewalk Counseling stories