By Matt Abbott
Op/Ed

It’s always nice to hear about the fruits of the efforts of pro-lifers who are on the “front-lines,” so to speak. Not that working “behind-the-scenes” in the ministry is any less praiseworthy, but I do greatly admire those who attempt the very difficult task of dissuading abortion-seeking women (and, in some cases, their boyfriends and even husbands) from going through with it.

On his Sept. 17, 2004 “Action News Hotline,” Joe Scheidler, national director of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League (www.prolifeaction.org), tells this anecdote:

“…Rick, another faithful sidewalk counselor, actually got help in talking a woman out of abortion from a woman who had an abortion at that [Chicago] mill two years earlier. She told the woman being counseled that this same Rick had tried to talk her out of abortion, but she wouldn't listen, and that her life fell apart following the abortion.

She pleaded with the new girl not to go in, and the girl said, ‘It has to be a miracle that you came by just when you did. You have convinced me that I shouldn't do this.’ So, miracles still happen.”

Then there’s this anecdote, from the fall 2004 newsletter of the Berwyn, Ill.-based WomanCare Services, Inc., written by the organization's executive director, Laura Nelson:

“Jennifer called us saying she needed to have an abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy because she wasn't with her husband. They weren't living together because her mother, with whom they had been staying after they lost their apartment, had kicked him out of the house after an argument. ‘And you'll be the next to go if you don't have an abortion,’ her mother warned Jennifer.

“Finding themselves both out of work, they felt completely dependent upon her mother who was pushing Jennifer to do something totally opposed to her and her husband's Catholic beliefs. But since they felt they had no choice, they went to their doctor saying they wanted an abortion. He referred them to us.

“In counseling, I was able to help this couple understand that they were allowing temporary circumstances and another person to make a decision for them which they would regret for the rest of their lives. An abortion could ruin the very good relationship they enjoyed, end the life of their son's sibling and cause them deep emotional and spiritual wounds. They left….

“Two weeks later, they returned, once again seeking an abortion. The housing referrals had not panned out, and her mother was giving Jennifer, who had developed bronchitis, a week to leave if she did not abort. Life just seemed overwhelming. We started all over again, reviewing the reasons an abortion would not solve their problem but only create more problems. We also connected them with a specific caseworker who took charge of their housing dilemma and gave them diapers for their son. A week later one of our volunteers was able to get Jennifer's husband a job at her company. Two weeks later Jennifer found a job herself.

“In a recent call from Jennifer, I asked her, ‘So, are we having the baby for sure?’ ‘Yes!’ she said firmly. ‘Nothing is going to stop us now.’”

(WomanCare Services can be reached at WomanCare@core.com.)

Contact

Matt Abbott
  IL, US
Matt Abbott - Author, 

Email

mattcabbott@hotmail.com

Keywords

Catholic, Abbott, abortion, counseling