The other day I wrote a short article wishing I could do more to end abortion. (Link here.) I said that my voice “just seems so small and insignificant” compared to the need. A friend who has been a long-time pro-life advocate and is well connected in the pro-life movement saw my post and challenged me: I could, in fact, do more.
This morning I went with him to a local abortion clinic. We did not picket, we did not carry signs, we did not jeer at, malign, or otherwise harass the women who went in to end the lives of their babies. We stayed the legal distance away and never once obstructed their pathway.
Then we prayed. We prayed for them, for their babies, and for the workers inside. Next, we pleaded. Earnestly. We pleaded with the women and their friends to please, please delay their decision and let us get them alternate help. Then we preached the gospel.
We did not “rain down coals of fire and damnation” on them. We did not call them names. We did not preach statistics but rather Christ and Him crucified. We also did not sugar-coat or suppress the truth: What they were engaging in was nothing less than murder, God would not hold them guiltless; yet if they would turn to Him and ask His forgiveness, He would be swift with His pardon and healing. Our final words before we left were, “We love you.”
You must understand: I have never done this sort of thing before. Today I stood face-to-face with another human being and pleaded with them to not kill someone. I can’t begin to explain the force of that intimate human connection.
What, you ask, were the results? Only God knows. I can tell you that not one person complained or cursed. Mostly we were ignored. (To be balanced, I’m told this is not always the case.)
I learned a lot today. I learned that I could, in fact, do more. All of us can. Did you know that just standing your legal ground on the sidewalk is sometimes enough of a visual deterrent? Not that we swagger and look imposing (I’m 5’7” and academic looking…I’m about as imposing as bread dough), rather, people think “Oh, nevermind, I’ll come back another day.”
And really, that in itself is a small victory: that that baby gets another day.
Those of us in the evangelical community are pretty much universally opposed to abortion. We are also pretty much universally frustrated and divided about what to do about it.
Interesting and inspirational, Anthony!
I wonder if anyone else could share how they go about fighting abortion.
I’ve not joined in the protests much. I guess I have mostly used my mouth and my vote.
I made a commitment years ago that I would not vote for anyone who believed it was okay to kill a baby in its mother’s womb. To believe that violent act is acceptable shows a craven moral sense that I simply will not support.
I’ve also preached and taught my belief in the sanctity of life and the evil of abortion.
Beyond that, not much.
Dave, Just a word about the word, “protest.” That conjures up all kinds of images–mostly negative. What we are really talking about in the vast majority of cases is, “presence.” Now, I’ve been at events that were much more heated than others. In fact, I had an old lady hit me with an umbrella one time because she didn’t like my sign (a Scripture verse). The church I pastor was a founding member of the board of our local Women’s Center. I know from experience that lives are saved by the “presence” of people holding signs, singing, and praying. The… Read more »
Abortion alternative centers do have a lot of impact.
I’m still wondering – what are practical steps we can take to deal with this problem without going to wild extremes?
Thank you for this post that challenges all of us. I am greatly heartened to hear what you did in being a faithful witness for Christ at the death camp. The grisly reality of child-killing in our time continues because it is behind closed doors. Pagans of old threw their children into the fire to Molech. Today, they are butchered in “clinics” by “doctors” on the altar of convenience. It is truly monstrous what we have allowed in America since 1973. Anything we can do to speak for the voiceless is important. God bless you.
Thanks for stopping by, Ingrid.