Baby Saveah, saved from abortion [Photo by Ryan Bouse]
The year 2012 has been full of big events for the Pro-Life Action League—like our leadership in the fight against the Obama administration’s HHS Mandate and the historic CONVERTED conference with testimonies from former abortion providers. There has also been drama and excitement at the abortion clinics with ambulances, arrests and police confusion.
But amidst all this attention-getting activity, the Pro-Life Action League’s principal mission of saving babies has quietly continued. Let me give you a few examples of how a baby is rescued from abortion.
A Providential Phone Call
One evening I was staying late at the League’s Chicago office catching up on a few emails and details when the phone rang. It was a young woman who was scheduled for an abortion. At the last minute she had begun to question whether abortion was the right choice. She turned to the internet and stumbled upon the Pro-Life Action League’s website. So she called.
Her name was Ann and she told me a little of her story. She didn’t know where to turn. At first I assumed she lived in the Chicago area, but when I asked her it turned out she was near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Fortunately—or I should say providentially—I had given a sidewalk counseling seminar last spring in Ft. Pierce, not far from Ft. Lauderdale.
I told Ann I had a contact at a crisis pregnancy center near her and gave her the cell phone number of the center’s director. Then I quickly called the director to let her know she would be hearing from Ann. After hanging up I offered a prayer through the intercession of St. Ann to make sure she made that phone call.
The following morning I had an email from the center’s director letting me know that they were able to help this mother who had found us in her time of need. A baby’s life was saved.
Ambulance Makes Couple Think Again
One Thursday morning shortly after I arrived at the Albany abortion clinic near the League office, an ambulance pulled into the alley. Something had gone wrong inside and while the escorts and most of the pro-lifers gathered there were engrossed with taking pictures and vying for position in the alley, a red van pulled in, heading for the clinic parking lot.
Cathy Mieding, veteran sidewalk counselor, always on the alert for a possible turnaround, went right over to the van. She pointed out that the ambulance was there to transport a patient from the clinic to a hospital because of an emergency. Naturally the man and woman in the red van found it disconcerting to discover that abortion might not be as simple and safe as they thought. Cathy told them about the help available at the nearby Women’s Center and offered to take them over there.
From my vantage point at the other side of the alley in front of the ambulance I saw Cathy wave and get into the red van. Within twenty minutes she was back at Albany with the report that the couple had decided against abortion and had made an appointment to go back to the Women’s Center for an ultrasound. Another life saved.
“Need Help” Sign Saves Baby
At the Forest View abortion clinic in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, it is difficult to get close enough to the abortion-bound clients to talk with them. So, in conjunction with the nearby crisis pregnancy center and the prayer group and counselors who regularly gather in front of Forest View, League staff designed a sign directing clients to the Women’s Center’s Des Plaines office.
The counselors stake the signs in the parkway so that motorists heading to the clinic’s parking lot will see them as they drive in. One morning Laura, a sidewalk counselor and one of the founders of the Northwest Families for Life, saw a woman come out of the abortion clinic. She sat in her car and stared at the need help sign. When she finally pulled out of the parking lot, Laura walked over to her car and asked if she needed help.
Laura learned that the baby the woman was carrying was not seen as good news, but she looked at Laura with hope in her eyes and asked about the free help advertised on the sign. Laura assured her that it was true: free help is available at the crisis pregnancy center. She took Laura’s advice and went to the Women’s Center. She now has a new lease on life and her baby is good news.
A Creative Connection
On Carol’s first day of praying at an abortion clinic she saw a young woman on her way into the clinic for her abortion. Two other sidewalk counselors had tried to talk with her, but she was determined to go ahead with the abortion. Carol noticed she had a cigarette. Carol happens to be a smoker herself, so she thought there might be a connection there. She walked up to her, cigarette in hand, and said, “If you’re going to go ahead and do this thing, let me give you a hug first.”
The young woman allowed Carol to put her arms around her and then just collapsed in sobs. She let Carol pray for her and slowly opened up to share her fears. Carol took her to the Women’s Center and stayed in touch with her throughout the rest of her pregnancy. Her little girl, Saveah, was born November 15. When Carol went to visit her in the hospital, the mom looked down at her beautiful new baby and murmured, “I can’t believe I was going to abort you.” Another life is saved.
So, while we are tempted to look to an election or a court ruling or mighty sermons that will turn the tide and build a culture of life, lives are being saved one at a time at the doors to the death chambers by people who care enough to be a channel for the grace of God.
