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League Holds “Old-Time Picket” Albany Abortion Mill

Picket Line

Picketing Albany Abortion Mill
[Photo by EJS]

On Saturday, Nov. 15, the League conducted an “old-time picket” at Albany abortion mill on Chicago’s northwest side. The picket was a great success, drawing a crowd of eighty pro-lifers, including many teens and children and several pregnant moms.

Most of the crowd carried signs reading “Albany Performs Late Term Abortions,” “Albany Hurts Women” and “Stop Abortion Now.” Others prayed Rosaries and sang hymns in prayer groups gathered at either end of the picket line, while counselors appealed to the women going into the clinic to give their babies the gift of life. A contingent held graphic abortion signs at the nearby corner of Cicero and Elston.

Four Babies Saved

Baby Malachi Signs

Teens held abortion signs that helped save one baby’s life [Photo by EJS]

At least four babies were saved during the picket. One couple considering abortion came back out of the clinic after a positive pregnancy test and talked to our counselors. Another couple went in to the clinic for an abortion, but came back out again, while a third abortion-bound woman stopped to talk to counsellors before entering the clinic. All three women were escorted to the nearby Women’s Center for further counseling and assistance.

A mother and daughter driving to the clinic saw the large graphic signs of Baby Malachi held by several homeschooled teens from a Generations for Life pro-life club in Wauconda. They were so shocked by the pictures that after parking they approached a counselor for information. The young woman decided not to go through with the abortion and went to the Women’s Center for help. These are the saves that we know about. There may have been others, women who drove away after seeing the demonstration and decided not to go through with the abortions they’d planned.

Albany Flyer

Neighbors Alerted to Clinic Blight

Several teens blanketed the neighborhood around Albany with flyers about this blight on their neighborhood. The flyers exposed the “Medical Surgical Center” as an abortion clinic and highlighted the fact that they perform late-term abortions and dangerous RU-486 chemical abortions. Area residents were invited to help shut down Albany, starting with the Our Lady of the New Millennium 24-hour prayer vigil the next weekend (see cover story).

Police Respond to Bogus Complaint

Police Blockage

Squadcar unwittingly blocks clinic access [Photo by EJS]

We received word the day before the picket that pro-abortion counter-protesters would be present, but none showed up. However, the police did make an appearance, responding to a bogus complaint that we were blocking traffic in the street. Ironically, the first police officer to arrive parked his squad car in the alley that provides access to the clinic parking lot, blocking traffic far more effectively than we could have, if that had been our intention.

The police were confrontational at first, but soon realized we were protesting peacefully and lawfully and became much more friendly. We appreciated their protection and professionalism.

“Old-Time Picket” Won’t Be Last

This is the first abortion mill picket the Pro-Life Action League has conducted in several years, during which time we’ve concentrated our efforts at the abortion mills on sidewalk counseling and prayer vigils, and conducted Face the Truth campaigns and similar protests in other public locations. Staffer Urszula Mihai suggested we pull one from the playbook and try an “old-time picket.”

Good call, Urszula! While our main focus at the mills will continue to be prayer and counseling, we won’t wait so long before our next “old-time picket.”

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