Eighth Abortion Facility in Dallas to Close (Catholic Online)

Late-term abortion facility in Dallas to close - 8th closure since Bishop began prayer at clinics (LifeSiteNews)

Texas Pro-Life Groups Celebrate Closing of Later-Term Abortion Business in Dallas (Lifenews.com)

Currently on the front page of http://www.spiritdaily.com/

Audio interview of David Bereit, National Director of 40 Days for Life, with Karen Garnett

Dallas, Texas: Late-term abortion facility to close. Mass of Thanksgiving and Prayer Service Scheduled for Saturday, June 28

The Catholic Pro-Life Committee, the Respect Life Ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, has learned that Aaron Women's Health Center, a late-term abortion facility in Dallas located at 6546 LBJ Freeway, will be closing due to eminent domain acquisition for the widening of LBJ. Aaron's was one of three abortion clinics in Texas authorized to perform late-term abortions when they upgraded their facilities in early 2005 to be in compliance with new state regulations requiring "ambulatory surgical center" status to perform abortions on unborn babies older than 16 weeks' gestation.

The Catholic Pro-Life Committee has maintained a constant presence of peaceful prayer and sidewalk counseling in front of Aaron's for over a decade, and was the second organization in the country to hold a 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil in 2004. Aaron's was the site of that effort from December 12, 2004, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn, to January 22, 2005, anniversary of the tragic Roe vs. Wade decision, when it was remodeling to do late-term abortions.

During the first 40 Days Vigil, a 24 hour a day/7 day a week ecumenical effort was organized and more than 800 people from 89 churches and several denominations prayed and fasted for an end to the killing of babies inside the clinic. The Catholic Pro-Life Committee participated in the National 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil in the Fall of 2007 with a vigil outside of Planned Parenthood, and plans to hold 40 Days for Life Vigils at two Dallas locations this Fall in conjunction with the national campaign.

The last day for abortion appointments at Aaron's is Saturday, June 28. "We are overjoyed to hear that this notorious place of death is not relocating, but closing," said Karen Garnett, executive director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee. "Not only is this a victory for the pro-life movement, for mothers and for babies, but it is a victory for Dallas as well, as the horrific practice of the killing of unborn children will take place at one less location in our city.
"We thank God that Dallas - and North Texas - will no longer be the home of a late-term abortion facility. We thank God for the many lives that will be saved and mothers and fathers spared the agony and regret of abortion with the closing of Aaron's. We stand ready to offer help and healing to those who have made the abortion decision at Aaron's or any other abortion facilities. We mourn the tremendous loss of so many thousands of innocent human lives, and we'll continue to pray and work towards the day when Dallas is an abortion-free city and the blood of innocent unborn children is no longer shed here."

Bishop Kevin Farrell of the Diocese of Dallas said, "This is the best news I've heard all week," and expressed his personal gratitude to everyone who has offered prayers and sacrifices for an end to the killing. There were 13 abortion clinics in Dallas In 1990 when Bishop Charles Grahmann arrived and began leading a monthly "Second Saturday Rosary" outside Dallas abortion clinics. Seven clinics closed between 1990-2001, the last being A Choice for Women in May of 2001. After Aaron's closes, there will remain five freestanding abortion clinics in Dallas, where the Catholic Pro-Life Committee and others will continue to pray and offer alternatives to abortion.

A Mass of Thanksgiving for the closing of Aaron's will be celebrated by Rev. Msgr. Mark Seitz at 8:00 am on Saturday, June 28, at St. Rita Catholic Church, located at 12521 Inwood Rd., Dallas. St. Rita was the location of the opening Mass and kickoff rally for the 40 Days Vigil held in 2004-05. Following Mass we will take buses to Aaron's for a closing prayer service and then return to St. Rita Sweeney Hall for a reception. As they did for the opening of the 40 Days Vigil in December 2004, special guests Shawn and Marilisa Carney from the National 40 Days for Life office in Bryan will be joining us for this Saturday's prayer and thanksgiving services. All are invited to attend.

Pictures from the last 40 Days for Life Campaign held in Dallas

Labels: Abortion mill

David Bereit is the National Campaign Director for the 40 Days for Life. Following is his June 23rd, 2008 weekly e-mail alert about the closing of Aaron's abortion mill in Dallas, TX.

Dear Andrew,

Whenever you get an e-mail with 20 exclamation marks in the subject line, you know it's one of two things...

1.) A spam message

-- OR --

2.) Something REALLY exciting

After getting off an airplane Friday coming home from a talk in Indiana, I jumped in my car and fired up my laptop to quickly check e-mail, and there it was:

"Prayers Answered!!!!!!!!!!! Aaron's Abortion
IS CLOSING!!!!!!!!!"

I opened the message to verify what I suspected, and sure enough, the notorious late-term abortion facility in Dallas, Texas -- site of the second 40 Days for Life campaign in history -- was shutting its doors for good!

Grabbing my cell phone, I dialed my friend Karen Garnett, Executive Director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas (the group that led the 40 Days for Life outside that Aaron's Abortion center three and a half years ago.)

Karen answered and confirmed the amazing news. Her voice was almost quivering with excitement.

She only had a minute, as she was about to go on the air for a live interview with a Dallas radio station, so we agreed to talk later.

On Saturday evening I was able to get her on the phone for about twenty minutes and she agreed to let me record our discussion so I could share it with you...

...And you won't believe what she shared!

Listen right now at:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=116

With less than a month before registrations begin for this fall's 40 Days for Life campaign, God has given us another beautiful gift to show what can happen in a community when dedicated people pray, fast, and put their faith into action.

Would you like to see this kind of impact in your hometown?

It can happen.

Ask the people of Dallas, Texas, who are now gearing up to do 40 Days for Life campaigns at TWO locations this fall.

Ask the people of Rockland County, New York -- site of the other abortion center that shut down less than two months ago, following a local 40 Days for Life campaign.

Andrew, if you want to see abortion end in your city, you owe it to yourself to listen to Karen share how 40 Days for Life -- and the ongoing faithfulness of many people over many years -- led to the closure of a late-term abortion facility.

Her words will give you great hope!

You can listen immediately by streaming web audio (optimized to work even for dial-up connections) or you can download the MP3 file to listen on your iPod or computer:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=116

Maybe YOU'LL be the next one sending out an e-mail sharing the exciting news from your city:

"Prayers Answered!!!!!!!!!!! The
Abortion Center IS CLOSING!!!!!!!!!"

Yours for LIFE,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

P.S.- This case study begins the pre-registration training to help you and others decide if 40 Days for Life is right for your community this fall. We certainly weren't planning to begin this way, but realize there's no better way to start than with a view of the possible end result! Listen now at:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=116

Labels: 40 Days for Life, Abortion mill

For Immediate Release: 06-23-08
Contact Andrew Smith (Cell 972-955-8402)

Dallas, Texas: Late-term abortion facility to close. Mass of Thanksgiving to be offered.

The Catholic Pro-Life Committee, the Respect Life Ministry for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, has confirmed that Aaron’s Women’s Health Center, a late-term abortion facility in Dallas, will shut its doors in the next two weeks. Aaron’s was one of three abortion centers in Texas that was authorized to perform late term abortions, up to 23 weeks, through a special state-certified Surgical Center status.

The Catholic Pro-Life Committee has maintained a constant presence of prayer and sidewalk counseling in front of Aaron’s for many years and was the second organization in the country to do a 40 Days for Life Campaign in 2004. Aaron’s was the focus of that effort from December 12, 2004 (Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe) - January 22, 2005 (anniversary of tragic Roe v Wade decision) when it was remodeling to do late-term abortions.

A 24 hour a day/7 day a week effort was organized then and more than 800 people from different denominations prayed and fasted for an end to the killing of babies inside the clinic.

CPLC Sidewalk Counselor Don Ancelin, a faithful , committed sidewalk counselor, who has been counseling at Aaron’s for the last three years , in talking to the clinic security guard last week, was the first to hear that employees of the clinic had been told to look for new jobs because the clinic would be closing in two weeks. Rumors of the clinics worsening financial status had been around for years. Independent sources have since confirmed the news.

“We are overjoyed to hear that this notorious place of death is finally closing,” said Karen Garnett, the Executive Director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee. “Late-term abortion is neither financially solvent, nor is it wanted in our community. We pray that God will be with all of the mothers who have entered that place and for all of their babies.”

The last abortion clinic to close in Dallas was ACH in May of 2001. There are 5 other places that perform abortions in Dallas.

A Mass of Thanksgiving will said by Msgr. Mark Seitz at 8:00 am on Saturday, June 28th at St. Rita Catholic Church, located at 12525 Inwood Rd., Dallas. Following Mass we will take buses out to Aaron’s for a prayer vigil and then return to St. Rita’s Sweeney Hall for a reception. All are invited to attend.

St. Rita Catholic Church was the location of the kickoff rally for the 40 Days Campaign held in 2004 and Msgr. Seitz walked in the procession to Aaron’s on December 12, 2004.

Pictures from the last 40 Days for Life Campaign held in Dallas.

Labels: Abortion mill

One of the many hallmarks of the pro-abortion movement is the slogan, "safe, legal and rare."

How that perceived notion fits in with the local police and the state Department of Environmental Quality raiding your trash dumpster and hauling away its contents is yet to be determined.

Dr. Alberto Hodari is a late term abortionist who owns six abortion clinics in Michigan. He has been previously accused of killing two girls from abortion and in a talk to medical students at Wayne State University said that he had a license to lie to his patients.

Concerned pro-lifers in Michigan began checking the contents of his trash after rumors of Dr. Hodari raping sedated patients began to float around. After a few weeks of checking the dumpster on a regular basis, they notified the police who just this morning carried out the raid.

While the newspaper reported in a gentle tone that "medical waste" was found in the dumpster, the people who went through the trash found things that can only turn your stomach. Below are excerpts from a report made for the police:

(Warning, graphic content)

"Milissa and I began investigating the dumpster behind the Womancare facility Friday, February 8, 2008.

What we found that Friday were patient records and open condom wrappers.

By looking through these documents we learned patients' names, phone numbers, addresses, ages, how long their pregnancy had lasted, what they were being seen by the doctor for, insurance forms, methods of payment, and several lab reports. We also discovered in the trash used syringes, ultrasound pictures of the babies, dozens of used drug vials, several used IV bags with the sharps still attached, bloody absorbent paper, open condom wrappers, used condoms, and bloody used laminaria.

On our third trash investigation we also found bloody canulas and human tissue distinguishably not a baby, except this time we also discovered infant body parts, including arms, hands, legs, feet, a spine, a ribcage, and eyes.

We estimate we found at least ten different infants. Each one was wrapped in a bloody gauze, tied at the end. Once you turned these inside out, you would find the infant parts. Each bloody gauze that was filled with an infant was wrapped in the absorbent paper used to cover the operating table which was soaked in blood, and used, bloody, latex gloves."

The police indicated they may not be able to pursue criminal charges on Dr. Hodari, but surely everyone can see this should not be tolerated in our society. Right?

Our friend Jill has more.

(Photo of man in Hodari dumpster from the Detroit News)

Labels: Abortion mill

The Catholic Pro-Life Committee hosts a quarterly Mass, Rosary & Procession from a diocesan church to a Dallas abortion center. St. Jude Catholic Church in Allen, TX hosted the July 2007 Mass & Procession as well as a baby shower for a mother who chose life for her baby.



An interesting thing happened that Saturday. The Abortion Center was closed (which is extremely rare for what is usually the best day for "business"). One of our sidewalk counselors called to ask why their gate was closed to find out they were closed for the day because of an emergency. Could it be possible that their "emergency" was the anticipation of our prayerful presence?

Check out www.youtube.com/prolifedallas for more videos from the Catholic Pro-Life Committee.

Labels: Abortion mill

On a Thursday in March, I picked up Amy, a student at the University of Dallas, to sidewalk counsel with me at Routh St, a local abortion mill, but found out that Paula would be alone at Fairmount, so dropped Amy off there. This meant that I would be alone at Routh, but since the White Rose (a local crisis pregnancy center) is next door, I figured this was safer than Paula being alone at Fairmount.

God graciously blessed me that day. I met a mother and daughter going in. The mother could not speak English so I called Natalia at the White Rose to talk to her, but the 14 year old daughter, "C" could speak English very well. She said she had been raped. She had skipped school with a group and gone to a house with them to try some pills to get high. The pills put her to sleep. This is when she was raped. She did not know who did it so did not want to report it to the police. I explained to her how women who have been raped and then have an abortion say that they get over the rape but not the abortion.

I asked if she went to church and she said she was Catholic and preparing for Confirmation in April. She told me which parish she attended. At this point Alvin the guard at Routh St abortion mill, and a staff person came over and escorted the mother and daughter into the abortion mill. As the 14 year old was being lead away, she turned to me and said "I won't do it!"

I was so upset I stood in the alley and cried, even after 7 years of sidewalk counseling sometimes it is overwhelming. I needed prayer support, so I called Marie at the CPLC office and asked for the number of the parish office where C told me she was going to be confirmed. They gave me "D"'s phone number and I called her and asked for prayers for one of her students. She was very upset and said she would indeed pray!

I went to the White Rose chapel with Natalia and we prayed together. About 45 minutes later, someone told me there were people asking for me up front. It was C and her mother. C told me she had been given a sonogram but they would not let her see the screen just as I had told her. First they told her she was too far along to have the abortion, then they changed their mind and said it was ok, but C told them she had changed her mind.

When she had the sonogram at the White Rose, the baby had her hands together as if praying. Yesterday as I was leaving C was going into White Rose and she looked very happy! She was returning for another sonogram.

Written by Carol, a Catholic Pro-Life Committee sidewalk counselor

Labels: Abortion mill

Yesterday, Good Friday, a group of about 200 people went to pray at Fairmount abortion mill. It is proper that Christians gather at a place of killing on the very day that we commemorate the death of the One who would set us free from our sins.

Just as those first Christians gathered at the foot of the Cross and lamented the blood shed that day, so we too gather and lament, as well, the innocent blood shed today in our nation. Presence is an important part of witness, "a witness which must be forcefully rendered even when there is a powerful temptation to hide, to give up, to go along with the prevailing opinion."

And yet, it would not be Good Friday without the presence of those who make innocent death possible. So it was 2000 years ago, so it is today.

As the Christians prayed and sang, among them walked the "spiritually dead," those who would choose to ignore the innocent shedding of blood and ridicule the Christians and pretend that they were the ones who were in the wrong. They would also help facilitate the shedding of that blood and ensure that it remained legal.

These are the "deathscorts," those who look death in the face and blink and who were there to escort the women into the abortion mill. Many of them are there because they know that to allow abortion to remain legal is to continue to justify their own behaviours, most of which are not consistent with being a Christian.

The deathscorts pushed the sidewalk counselors out of the way as they escort the women in. It is amazing to watch as they break the law in an effort to ensure that the sidewalk counselors did not. Local law enforcement watches, sees all of this happening and does nothing.

A reporter I spoke to was amazed that so many women and young people were present at the Vigil. I told him that this was the face of the movement and that more and more of them were coming to join us as they finally see the truth about what abortion is and what it does to women and their children. Then he told me that he thought we were intimidating.

The last thing I would call people who want to give themselves away to others in need is intimidating. The truth is they are inspiring.

Labels: Abortion mill