Lost Motherhood

One of the more noticeable language isms in NYC, at least in the areas we work in, is the term 'Mami' (sp?) used to refer to any young woman. It's kinda like saying "hey you" or "girl" to get someone's attention or when talking to a stranger. It took me a while to get used to because I didn't understand why everyone was calling each other "Mommy". It was especially striking because I was working with so many abortion minded people and coming to understand what a lost sense of motherhood most of these women have who were being called "Mommy" on a regular basis.
Then it kinda struck me. Almost like a desperate cry for help, it felt like all of broken, deprived parents going about the city were expressing their sense of lost motherhood. As if there was a great loss of mothers in their city because of the great loss of children.
Now, I know that's not what anyone is thinking, but it's incredibly ironic that both the tragedy of abortion and the common usage of "mami" and "papi" exist so prominently within the same population.

N.Y.C. Really Is The Abortion Capital Of The Country

My job as a crisis pregnancy counselor is to show up at our centers to counsel women who are pregnant. I have scheduled times when I need to be there.

Another big part of my job is answering the phones. I have all different kinds of calls coming in. The main ones are girls calling for an abortion.

Seeing as how populated N.Y.C. is, you can imagine how busy my phone rings on a day to day basis. However, I actually have girls that call all the way from Connecticut and Pennsylvania who want abortions.

They tell me that they have insurance within their state, but abortion is not very popular there, so it's hard to find a place to get it done.

Whenever they go online to google abortions, all kinds of abortion clinic locations are listed. So not only am I dealing with clientele from this state, but from 2 other states as well ! This really is the abortion capital of the country. 

40 Days for Life Coming Soon

Our bi-annual tradition of hosting the 40 Days for Life in NYC continues this spring! Mark your calendars to join us or pray from where you are to support those who will be keeping vigil outside Dr. Emily's abortion clinic in the South Bronx. If you are able to make a weekly commitment, it would be a huge blessing to all those women and the community. For more information and to spread the word, visit our site at: www.40daysforlife.com/nyc.

Just Life in NYC

This isn't directly related to pro-life work, but the reality of where these women come from and what kind of baby daddys they have makes it pretty relevant i think: 
I was out getting some lunch one day (we were trying to clean and board up the house against a rat, so I couldn’t use the stove) and I decided to try and find a pizzaria in an area I hadn’t checked out before. I found a nice place (it had cheese fries!) and while I was waiting for my order, I leaned against the wall and listened in on the conversation that was going on around me. A group of black guys were hanging out (seemed like one of their normal gathering places) and started talking about their plans for the weekend. There was some discussion of whether any of them would be arrested and then when the best time to be arrested would be. It used to be Friday night was bad, but now there is apparently court on Saturdays, so that would actually be the best time. Saturday night is bad though obviously, because then you have to wait for Monday to get out. One said when he was arrested they had written “crack dealer” on his report. He was laughing, how did they come up with that? Another said he never knows when he’ll get arrested, could be for just walking down the street. Cop stops you and you say “wha’d I do?” and he thinks you look like a thug, just because you’re black.  That’s normal life for them. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never thought to plan my weekend around when the best time to get arrested is. I came away from that pizzaria with a lot more than I expected (and not just because I found cheese fries).

Believe It or Not

Have I lived a pretty sheltered life up until this point? Yes. But what kinds of things was I unaware of and am now discovering? Some pretty shocking and horrible ones. I think I appreciate my upbringing a little more the more I learn I was not exposed to so early on. Sometimes my fellow interns bring home new and crazier stories every day. After all we’ve heard, we still all stand there with our mouths open, shaking our heads and at a loss for words. Helps that we are in NYC too. Sometimes the stories don’t even involve our work.

A few months ago one of the workers came home and was in a fairly worked up state. She was all excited and in some state of disbelief. It took a little bit to understand what she was trying to explain. She said that one of her girls (that’s how we refer to our clients) had carried her baby to term but it had died before she gave birth. Those are such incredibly rough moments. Like a double heartbreak. But that wasn’t the shocking part of the story. When it happened, the mother was so upset, she said she didn’t want to see the baby. As soon as she got home and was able to sort things out though, she began arranging a funeral and went back promptly to request her baby’s body. She was told she couldn’t have it. She persisted, but they refused. Someone with her overheard the medical personnel say to another that there was no way they could give the body back because the eyes had already been removed and sold (or “donated”) to research.

Even us guys benefit from this!

      About a week ago I received a client; 17 years old, very intelligent and she seemed sure of what she wanted to do. With her came her boyfriend, seemed like a nice kid but confused and not sure what was going on. As soon as they walk in, he starts to cry, walks out and I follow him. I talk to him for a bit and ask him to follow me to one of our counseling room.
      He opens up about what is going on in his life and tells me that he rarely opens up to anyone much less someone he just met, I tell him that I will always be there for whatever he needs. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and did not seem fine. After a few hours of talking he agrees to come back for another visit. He came back this past Monday, and after keeping in contact with him and after long hours of just giving him the much needed attention and care, he is now doing much better and we even helped him find a job! He called me last night to tell me how happy he was and how he was going to put everything on his part to have a better life for himself. He is looking forward to start over and I will be there as long as he needs me too!

      In regards to our female client, we can't do much as she won't allow us to help her but we will continue to try and we won't give up.

The big picture!

        Sometimes we all expect to find the miracles in the big things, for God to come down and show himself to us and remind us that HE has always been there. I forget as well how Magnificent and Grant HE is and how HE will remind us day after day of HIS Beauty. Working at EMC, time after time I am remind that I have to look in the smallest places to find the biggest miracles; and this week wasn't the exception. While in our Brooklyn Office, I was asked by the Director if I wanted to see an Ultrasound, and I of course agreed; Thinking it would be like any other Ultrasound that I've been a part of. This time I felt my heart beating faster and I got this feeling that this time somethings was different. At times we don't see the miracle that is in front of us, we only see it with our eyes but not our hearts and This time God wanted to remind me that HE is there and Watching over me! I left the room very emotional after seeing something so precious and perfect, which is God's creation!!!! God shows us his greatest miracles in his smallest creations and like myself we all need to be reminded from time to time. I am so grateful that I can be a part of this and to be able to presence the miracle of life!

The Magic Sonogram Bus

For the past few months I've been working exclusively on administrative/fundraising endeavors so it's been an unusual experience to be so far removed from the frontlines work. At the same time I still run into those who are working on the sidewalk and in the centers on a regular basis. While I'm sitting at the desk, a fellow worker may walk in at some point throughout the day and give me an update on what happened that morning. "We had two saves today" was what one told me after a morning outside Dr. Emily's. Two saves....that's two lives saved in one morning. It's not about the numbers, it's about the impact of two children being saved from death in one morning. It's the best kind of news that I could receive while I'm working away at the computer.
Multiple times a week I'll receive these kinds of updates. Our mobile sonogram bus is a miracle worker. So many children are walking around today because of that miracle of modern technology. And since I work where it is parked at the end of the day, I get to hear so many of the great stories it has to tell. 

Top 5 Most Influential Pro-Life Celebrities of 2011

It doesn't feel like we have a lot of support from the more influential areas of pop culture sometimes, but here is a great article about how, in fact, we have more than we may have realized. Some of the most well known celebrities of today are openly, and some even actively, pro-life. Maybe society is trying hard to make us look "un-cool", but here are some hot shots who know that standing up for the lives of the unborn is worth the risk.

http://liveaction.org/blog/top-five-most-influential-pro-life-celebrities-of-2011/

Me!!!!!

        My name is Luis Mondragon, I am 25 years old. Born in Guerrero, Mexico but moved to Sanger, California when I was 8. After I graduated high school I moved to Chicago, Illinois where I currently study and work not only professionally but also with the Pastoral Youth. I am a member of a community called Sembradores which was started by Rev. Nestor Torres. Father Nestor is a Colombian priest that was brought over to work with the youth of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He always tells us that God needs an army and that we are called to be that soldier that HE needs; and once a soldier has been trained and knows enough to go into battle he must do so, that is why I'm here. I wanted to do my missionary work and after looking at some options this is where I felt my heart closest to as my mom was a single parent and I Thank her for not choosing or ever considering this route as I probably wouldn't have been here since my dad left before I was born.
         Babies don't have a voice and we must be that for them, specially unborn as in there they don't even have a cry that can be heard. We are not only called to do so by our Faith but also by our humanity. We must respect and protect all of God's creation, specially his greatest and most beautiful of all, his children. 

Don't Argue With A Nun. You'll Lose

It was just another day at Dr. Emily abortion clinic in the Bronx, NY.

 We stand outside of the entrance to try to talk to girls going in. We lovingly tell them they have other options other than abortion, with which we would like to help them with.

 One of the pro aborts who frequently stands outside of Dr. Emily is Elizabeth. She is on the right in this picture, with the orange vest.

I have spoken with her briefly in the past. She is very adamant about the woman having a "choice". That opinion overrides any argument you present to her in explaining the importance of life. Anything you have to say that regards taking away a "woman's right", she doesn't want to hear it. 

Not only does she not want to hear it, but she doesn't want you standing near the one place that holds her beliefs highest. This is what's going on in this picture.

Elizabeth abruptly yelled at one of the sisters to move away from the entrance. The sister was within her legal right in where she was standing. Elizabeth simply wanted to threaten her so that she could get rid of her.

I was there. I heard the response the sister gave back to Elizabeth. She did not raise her voice. She did not say anything ugly. She did, stand her ground. She did, attempt to talk to Elizabeth like a human being and not a protester.

The sister ended up staying where she was and continued to pray. Elizabeth moved to a different part of the sidewalk.

Improving Sidewalk Counseling Tactics

As we sidewalk counsel girls going into the abortion clinic, we have noticed the places that get us stopped.

They are generally right in front of the clinic where the pro abort , escorts are.

They rudely interrupt our conversation with the girl by raising their voices and saying things like, "they are just here to harass you . Don't listen to them" among other non sense.

It is very frustrating to feel like you might be getting through, to then have everything get cut off because of these escorts in the front of the entrance.

We have decided to take action in this dilemma. We now have alternate routes.

Some of us will go to the areas on the sidewalk that are between the front entrance and the back entrance, while we still have others that stay at the front and back entrances themselves. This gives us almost a whole minute more to talk to the girl going in, if we are able to spot her right away. A minute in sidewalk counseling is like an entire period in school. It's just enough time to go over a whole new lesson plan.

These are also the places where a girl is getting off the bus or the train.I have noticed a huge difference just within this one change, in getting through to the girls.

This is a picture of one of the friars sidewalk counseling with this new tactic.

Widower

Today I had a lady come in fills out the intake form when I call her to come in and take a sit she tells me right off the bat she wants an abortion she has made up her mind that this is something she want to do. So I say “ok well still take a sit and we will discuss the procures that take place in having an abortion and the potential complication that could happened” she take a sit and I ask her “what the reason why she wants to have an abortion” at first she was very guarded with what she wanted to say and took a long pause before answering. I lean over and asked her tell me I want to hear why I see so much pain in your eyes. All of a sudden tears start coming down her face I asked if I can hug her and she just looks at me and put her arms around tells me my husband just passed away I cant I already have 4 kids with him I cant it just too much for me right now I cant I wont not right now. So I told her to let it out cry sometime I good to cry and she just cries like there was no tomorrow. After she calms down and I tell her that sometimes there could be complications that can be fatal and she says “no way I cant what about the other kids I cant thy already lost one parent am not going to leave them with no parent” am keeping my baby. So she goes to the sonogram room and find out she 9 weeks and the smile on her face when she herd the baby heart beat the tear that came down weren’t tears of fear, hate nor anger but tears of joy.  

Adoption in progress

A few days a go I was in the queens office when I lady walks in after reading her intake form she tells me that she pregnant and doesn’t want it. wants to know how far along she is because she had gone to choices and they had told her she cant no longer have an abortion due to the fact she was more than 23 weeks, so choice refers to another abortion clinic in another state than does allow abortion after 23 weeks so she calls that clinic to find out how much it would cost her to have a late term abortion. The clinic says it would cost her $5,000 for which she says she can’t afford. So she goggle our office to see what alternative she has. I told her we can help and find out exactly how far along she is what her alternative are for her, we find out she 31 weeks and having a baby girl and that she can give the baby up for adoption and that different type of adoption she can do the open and close adoption, she said I cant keep it I have a kid already and I just cant have it I would prefer to give the baby to someone who wants a baby and can afford it. So now we are working to find a family for her baby girl.

Unofficial EMC Internship Promo Video

Abby and I were having some fun and put together a little "promo video" (as we like to call it) or memoir of the experience of being an intern for EMC. It's like a tribute to all the interns of past and present as well as some insight into what brings us here in the first place. New York has been, I think for all of us, a place of adventure and a non-stop series of new experiences. On top of that, and more importantly, our time with EMC has been eye-opening and life-changing for all of us in many ways. We have pretty much concluded that there is no other work quite like this one and we want to share what we've learned with everyone else who is fighting the good fight or perhaps is being led by God to begin.

Again, this is non official, it's just for fun. Hope you enjoy!

5 Pro-Abort Female Celebrities (You May Be Surprised)

Who's your favorite actress? Do you know what her stance is on life issues? Unfortunately, one of my favs made the following list of outspoken pro-abortion celebrities. Guess I'm going to have to be more careful what movies I support. I don't know about you, but for me, to know that a highly successful and beautiful actress is using her popularity to support and encourage the spread of abortion makes her a whole lot less attractive. Maybe it won't be so hard to boycott after all.

http://liveaction.org/blog/5-female-celebrities-im-boycotting-and-why/

Stories from Seasoned Warriors

As I am working exclusively in fund raising now, I am able to see a different perspective on pro-life work in NYC. At the offices and clinic we see the up front and immediate world of the pro-life vs. pro-abort struggle. While visiting the veterans of this work at their homes, we get to hear the stories of how efforts have changed and evolved since the first moments of abortion becoming legal in New York.

These people are truly warriors and heroes. They have been put in jail, ridiculed, put their money and their homes at the disposal of the needs of pregnant women, and many have even adopted children, some of whom were in danger of being aborted. They have been hard at work from day one and continue to be involved in whatever area of the city they live. Trips to the March for Life every year, fundraisers for local pregnancy centers, praying outside abortion clinics (and they report all those have closed in succession over time), spreading awareness for life...the list really does go on and on. As I've mentioned before, it's so uplifting and encouraging to hear about their struggles and victories and to know of their support and prayers. In the future I will try to recount specific experiences they've shared.

Like It Or Not, Money Is Important

Crisis pregnancy centers cannot exist without money. Money interferes in some way, some how.


For example, this is a picture of myself and 2 other EMC interns in front of a sonogram machine at a CPC in Massachusetts.


The director of the CPC was telling us that pro-lifers have heard the cause of what they were doing, and from there, decided to donate money to buy this expensive machine.

This is just one of the many expenses a CPC comes across. Take the existence of Expectant Mother Care (EMC) for example. We have over 10 offices within 4 of the boroughs of New York Cities. As most people know, office space or any space for that matter in NYC is highly expensive.

Just for the counselors and sonogram technicians to have an area to do their work costs thousands of dollars per month. Like it or not, money is important.

Scripture says "the love of money is the root of all evil". However, if people who have an abundant amount of money, who are filled with the Holy Spirit, and who know and love the Lord , have the opportunity to take a potential evil product, and use it for not only good, but greatness.

It is a great work we are doing here. Think. We are literally saving lives. When we show up to work, our clients carry another life inside of them. What we do on a day to day basis is make or break for that child's life! It's extraordinary what the Lord allows us to do. But we cannot do it without the help of your donations. God uses you and He uses us. We are a team.

Wishing Everyone Could Have Parents Like Mine

I am blessed beyond measure to have been raised by the parents that I have. Not only did they teach me how to be like Christ, but they lived the life themselves.

Both of my parents are strong Protestants,who were born and raised in the state of North Carolina. They have been members of different churches over the years, all the way from non-denominational to Presbyterian to Baptist.

Make no mistake, there are different philosophies on the doctrine of these denominations.  However, throughout all of their studies, one thing remains the same: Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Because of this teaching, they taught me that it was Jesus himself who came to die for what we, as people, deserved to die for. Our problems are so great, Jesus came to take the place for them. He didn't promote death, he promoted life.

For this reason, they taught me to believe that abortion is wrong. They visited me here in NYC, to pray with me outside of one of the many abortion clinics in the Bronx.

I continue to pray, that my generation strives to follow in the footsteps of someone like my mom, and someone like my dad. Thanks be to God for their obedience to Him. 

The wisher

I was at the queens office when a lady walks in saying she wants a abortion after a while of talking she had told me she was praying for one day have a baby but when she was ready. So I say well it looks like your prayers have been answer,but she said she wasn't ready to be a mom yet there are things she wanted to have before having a baby.after showing her the video and talking she left still undecied on what she wanted to do. She told me she was going to go to church pray on what she should do .So a couple of hours later she call me and as soon as I answer she starts to cry. I asked what was wrong why was she crying so hard after a couple of mins she says "am going to keep it" I told that was great and what had changed so mind specially so fast. She had left the office only a couple of hours. She said she ask god to give her a sign she should keep the baby, so I ask what was the sign she asked for she said that it was if she call the center and I picked up it was god telling her to keep the baby. I ask why would you ask for that. She reply by saying " I saw you where busy with other girls who where coming in the center, therefor the chances of you picking up a call was going to be small but you did thank you"   

The Reailizer

I was at the queens office when a lady came in for a pregancy test. We started talking and found out she has had 4 abortions and altho she already had 3 kids,she didn't want to have another baby considering she was over 50 and her youngest was already 15 years old . After a long conversation and showing her how abortions are perfome, she said "if someone would have told me that how they are being perfome,and that they are baby from day 1 I would have never done that" she started to cry realizing she had not 3 kids but 7 kids. Altho she was not pregnant she realized that what she did was wrong  

LUMINA Part 2

A while back I wrote about one of the organizations that, though completely separate from ours, is essential to our work. They are a group focused on ministering to post-abortive women. To get a glimpse of the powerful work they are involved in along with the life changing impact of abortion and post-abortion healing, check out this video from a great group of local filmmakers, Grassroots Films in Brooklyn.

Please share so we can support their beautiful work and reach more women who are living with brokenness and regret from a past abortion!

Good V Evil

I was able to visit a crisis pregnancy center with 2 of my colleagues in Massachusetts recently. It was a refreshing experience.


They are also a non-profit organization. They base most of their hopeful success on prayer. They even had a room specifically dedicated to be kept for people who wanted to sit down and pray.

Fortunately, there is a Planned Parenthood right across the street from them.





 I say this is fortunate because just in case a girl decides at the last second she does not want to go through with the abortion at PP, there is a safe haven within the support and help of this crisis pregnancy center.


We can only do our part. Your part could be standing outside of the abortion clinics praying, it could be working a 9 to 5 to make money to give to these CPC's, or it could be volunteering at one of these CPC's to see how you can help.

Gracias

Me voy a España ya y sólo me queda agradecer a toda la gente que trabaja para la organización y a todas las clientas que he conocido por todo lo que me han enseñado.

Realmente las expectativas que tenía cuando llegué han sido superadas con creces. Esta experiencia me ha ayudado a madurar y a valorar realmente todo lo que tengo. Me ha hecho sentirme muy afortunada por todo y me ha enseñado a ser más agradecida.

Me despido de EMC con un “gracias” por haberme dado esta oportunidad.

Experiencia vivida

Hoy, cuando apenas quedan unos días para que vuelva a España echo la vista atrás. Hace tres meses llegué aquí sin saber muy bien cómo iba a hacer. Sólo sabía que quería salvar bebes y que el aborto me parecía algo muy cruel y tremendamente injusto. Hoy puedo decir que jamás habría imaginado la grandeza de la labor que hacen las asociaciones próvida como EMC.

Una asociación próvida no es una máquina de salvar bebés, sino como una gran mamá. Un verdadero próvida lucha por salvar al bebé pero su principal labor es escuchar comprender ayudar y amar a su mamá, al médico abortista, al portero  de la clínica abortista, a su dueño millonario, etc.

Animo a quien tenga la oportunidad a que “venga y verá”

Recogiendo la cosecha

Últimamente hemos estado llamando a las chicas que vinieron a nuestra oficina en los primeros meses del año y muchas de ellas ya han tenido a sus bebes. Con este trabajo, he podido ratificar lo importante que es nuestra labor y cómo las mujeres se han sentido acompañadas y apoyadas en EMC.

Hoy una de las chicas me ha contado que ella perdió a su bebé y cómo fue de difícil para ella superarlo después de que en un principio había pensado en abortar. Ella me agradeció nuestro trabajo y me dijo que en nuestra oficina fue cuando se empezó a sentir querida y que hoy, gracias a nosotros, ha aprendido que no le merece cualquier hombre. Me dijo que gracias a nosotros ha aprendido a valorarse como mujer.

Algunos hombres buenos

A lo largo de todos mis post sólo he hablado de mujeres heroicas que tienen que luchar solas. ¿Qué pasa con los hombres? La inmensa mayoría de los que vienen a nuestras oficinas no son el ideal de hombre de ninguna mujer. Beben demasiado o toman drogas, son egoístas, manipuladores, abusadores, groseros, infieles y no valoran a las mujeres.

Pero lo cierto es que también hay algunos hombres buenos. Hace poco llegó a nuestra oficina de Queens uno de ellos. Él tenía 18 años, no tenía trabajo, no sabía nada de ser papá, pero sin embargo su novia estaba embarazada. Desde el momento en el que su novia le dijo que estaba embarazada, él se convirtió con sus actos en un verdadero padre de familia, buscando trabajo, procurando que la madre de sus hijos tuviera lo que necesitaba e incluso asumiendo el comunicarles esta noticia poco esperada a la familia de ella.

Este post es una felicitación a esos pocos hombres valientes. Gracias de parte de vuestras familias.

Check Out The Baby Board !

A big part of working at a CPC is where you decide to locate the building. This particular one is in Massachusetts where there is a Planned Parenthood right across the street.

This CPC has had very effective attempts to deter girls away from getting an abortion. They have been given many opportunities to let a woman know that she can keep her baby.

A woman can keep her baby and also be given help from their center.

This is a picture of the "baby board". These are consolidated pictures taken from all different times of the year, where a woman chose LIFE over DEATH. 

This CPC was able to save all these babies. What it took was money, volunteers, and most importantly prayer. " If God is for us, who can be against us?"

World Youth Alliance

World Youth Alliance

I just had the pleasure of attending a local conference on life and love. One of the presentations was by the former president and founder of World Youth Alliance, Anna Halpine. She spoke on all the incredible movements that are going on around the world, in a number of different countries, in support of the dignity of human life. They have some great programs they're working on in order to counter legislation proposed in some countries that will promote more widespread use of contraceptives and abortion.

We know how those two things contribute to the disintegration of relationships, the family, and society, so it is important not only to fight them, but to find effective ways of educating women on how to naturally and safely monitor their health and fertility. This is what WYA is working on and it's quite inspirational to see.

Sonogram Bus and Choosing Life

Few things surprise me at the abortion clinic anymore because I have been there so often, however this recent story was certainly exciting.

Dr. Emily abortion facility has two driveways leading to the back parking lot but they still love to call the police whenever we 'block' one of the entrances - which is usually one of us standing on the sidewalk and talking to one of their potential victims while not blocking any vehicle's or pedestrian's entry.

This particular day I was speaking to a girl on the bus who had been destined for an abortion. The bus was microscopically overlapping their man-made yellow line which shows where the driveway 'begins.' Everything was going well until a police officer asked me to move the bus - I begged for just 15 minutes and I could tell he realized how ridiculous his request was since anybody could see that the driveway was not being blocked and anyone could get either in or out. However, I had to improvise and move the bus.

The girl I was with was very understanding and agreed to actually stay on the bus while I moved it! I eventually found a spot in a White Castle parking lot and continued to counsel, console, and comfort her.

She ended up getting her sonogram and after we were done talking she was determined to keep her baby. Amazing! Thank God for this girl's patience and willingness to trust me, because this was one crazy situation.

Greedy Abortion Facilities

Sometimes I'm grateful for the greediness that prevails in the abortion industry and especially at Dr. Emily Clinic in the Bronx.

If that sounds outrageous, just hang with me. You see many of my saves personally have begun by the abortion clinic's refusal to commit an abortion due to a woman's inability to pay - their insurance doesn't work there. Of course, if abortion really was a medical necessity the provider would be compelled to perform it - but since it is not, they can simply say 'no' and send the girls home - or rather - to me.

And I'm glad to be waiting outside the clinic equipped to offer free help to any woman with the backing of EMC, and many women fortunately gladly accept this. I've seen their frustration at the refusal of the clinic turned to joy when they choose life with us, I've seen this refusal understood to be a sign that maybe they should keep their baby, and I've also seen this make the most determined and hardest hearts crack and decide to listen to what we have to say.

For all of this I'm grateful that the abortion industry is as greedy as it is.

A Perfect Opportunity To Tell The Truth

I had a client this week who came in for a pregnancy test. She was very young. She is just starting college. I asked her what she wanted to do if she indeed was pregnant. She basically was undecided.

I asked her if she knew what an abortion is. She replied, "Not really". I told her the 2 most common induced abortions. I told her the abortion facts that she could simply look up online if she wanted to, so that she knew I was not making it up.

After the consultation, she was completely turned off by the idea of abortion. She asked me, "How is that legal?" She really could not believe that our country and president would approve the act of abortion. I told her that many people choose to be ignorant on this particular subject matter. Because if they knew what was going on, they would be appalled at the thought of abortion.

As she was leaving, she said, " I'm really glad I got to meet with you today. I really , just, didn't know about all this".

I am just so thankful I was able to have the opportunity to meet with such a young girl who has little knowledge on the subject matter, and educate her on the facts. I had the opportunity to give her the truth.

Una bella escultura

¿Por qué todo me pasa a mí? ¿Por qué está vida es tan dura conmigo y no para de darme golpes? Estás preguntas son las que se hacen muchas de las mujeres que vienen a nuestros centros. Han tenido una vida difícil desde pequeñas. No difícil como tú y yo alcanzamos a imaginar, sino difícil de verdad.

Yo les digo a esas mujeres que esos golpes que les da la vida son iguales que los golpes que recibe un trozo de piedra hasta convertirse en una bella escultura. Depende de cómo nos tomemos esos golpes nos podemos llegar a convertir en el David de Miguel Ángel o en un trocito de piedras. Sabemos perfectamente que reacción a los golpes nos lleva a ser unas bellas personas o un trocito de piedras. Sólo nos queda saber en qué nos queremos convertir.

Un billete de $100

¿Cuánta gente lleva un billete de $100 en la cartera? ¿Cuántos hombres se han llevado lo más valioso que tienes? ¿Cuántos hombres se han llevado tu intimidad?

El billete de $100 no lo lleva mucha gente, pero uno de $1 lo lleva cualquiera. Tú, mujer, eres muy valiosa. No merece tenerte cualquier hombre. De hecho eres tan valiosa que solo te merece aquel que te ame de verdad, que sepa respetarte, que sepa esperarte, que quiera estar contigo toda la vida. Aquel hombre que ame tus virtudes y tus defectos y no sólo tu cuerpo. Ese hombre es real y el tuyo te está esperando en algún lado.

Not So Different After All?

It's usually a pretty interesting conversation starter when someone asks us what we do in NYC. I'm not sure anyone has ever expected the answer we give them. Some people get confused, others quiet, others excited. Most people have never heard of work like this before, or at least not largely staffed by a small band of young, long-term "interns".

As we know, the subject of abortion is usually polarizing. So, while a large portion of our society is relativistic and tries to politely not step on your toes, even when they think you are dead wrong, we still get a lot of cautiously suspicious and even quietly hostile responses. People may consider themselves too accepting to argue with you about your beliefs, but you can still tell when you are being scratched off someone's credibility list when you staunchly support something they consider ridiculous.

Some of the common reactions are a careful 'That's interesting..." followed by a "So, you are trying to convince the women to keep their babies?". To which we always have to clarify that we are primarily trying to educate and the education "persuades", if you will, by itself. Once you know what abortion is, you can hardly in your right mind support it; and once the women know what abortion is, they often realize they are in for a whole lot more than they were led to believe.

So, we absolutely believe an abortion isn't going to help any woman, any day. The wary listeners who are worried about our work often need to defend their position with "But it's really the woman's choice, in the end..." to which I can wholly agree; there is really no doubting that. That seems to surprise them. Maybe, if they were as informed as we are on what abortion is and seen all the girls in person affected by it as we have, they would realize that in their heart they do not believe something so different from us after all.

A Followup With A Client

I did a follow up with one of our clients Victoria. She recently had her baby in June, M'Kayla Abigail Torres.

She is now living in a home at Good Counsel for women pregnant or with a baby. She is located in upstate NY.

She has definitely had to make some living adjustments there, but is still doing the best with what she has. For me personally, Victoria is an inspiration.

She birthed and kept her baby in an abortion promoting society. She completely moved out of her town to give her baby a better life. She changed her address, her friends, her town, and her life for her daughter.

She has done the most selfless act: Given up her life for another.

I am pleased to also inform you that she recently got accepted for a job. Today is her first day. She plans on saving her money for her and M'Kayla. Praise God for this wonderful victory !

Wait, How Many Lives Have Been Saved??

I've been doing a lot of fundraising related work recently and a part of what I have to write over and over again is the phrase "over 200 babies are being saved every month...". I knew the statistics, that EMC has saved about 30,000 babies or more since starting 25 years ago, but after writing that phrase so many times, suddenly it really struck me: we've saved 30,000 human beings.

I come from a tiny village of 1,000 people. Sounds incredible to people used to New York City. In this city, maybe 30,000 isn't such an impressive number, but where I come from, that number of people could populate 3,000 of my towns. Now, that's impressive.

What if one little baby in one of those little towns was aborted? Like..me?

We aren't about the numbers. We are about the people. 

Continue the Presence

So the 40 Days for Life campaign has officially ended but I want to urge people from around the country to continue the presence!

This year we were able to coordinate vigils complete with candles and peaceful prayer and it really was a blessing for me to participate in each one. God knows this prayerful effort when the abortion mill is closed can work wonders for the women inside when it is open - I have seen it, it's that intangible thing that can make a woman choose life when nothing else extraordinary is done.

I want to thank EMC for organizing the events here in New York and all the wonderful people who participated. Lets increase the amount of people for next the 40 days campaign and hope that many will come out even during the "off season!"

She Laughs, But God Is Serious

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans" reminds me of a story in the Bible about Sarah. She was old in age; she was 'too old' to get pregnant.

God tells her husband that she is going to be with child. After she overhears the conversation, she laughs.She laughs, but God is serious. She assumes first and foremost that it's impossible. After those thoughts, she feels that it is a mistake and should not happen.

This reminds me of my client who is in her mid 40's. She has already had an abortion before and is pregnant again, wanting another abortion. She too, like Sarah, thinks it's a mistake.

Her and I talked for over 2 hours. I also met with her boyfriend who wants her to keep the baby. She left abortion bound. After she left, I thought to myself, 'what is she going to do in 20 to 30 years? She has no family to take care of her. Her parents have passed, she has no siblings, she has no children, and no husband.'

It is in her better interest to keep this baby. I hope she realizes this.

I hope and pray that she comes back to us. 

Blessed Friendships

People come to EMC for the work and if they stay, that is generally likewise their motivation. It teaches and changes everyone. There are a lot of sacrifices involved, one of the greatest sometimes being our life in community, but in exchange for all the difficulties, God gives so many of us a very great and unexpected blessing: good friendships.

We have lived and worked with people from all around the country and around the world. Most people who come probably don't realize they may be meeting people from Spain, England, Africa, Ireland, Mexico, or some other country. Though we may vary in ages from about 17 to 70 and we all come from different backgrounds, our fraternity is strengthened by our faith and our work. Friendships are formed that I never would have expected or hoped for.

Another sign that we are truly doing God's work here.

"Abortion Is Illegal Right?"

I stood outside of this abortion clinic in Queens with some of my other colleagues. We prayed all 4 mysteries of the rosary.

I also went to an abortion clinic in the Bronx this past week to pray as well. As I was praying, I couldn't help but notice a young man who had walked out of the clinic, and was standing against a street sign.

I waited a while, then decided to go for it. I approached him to say, " Hey , is your girl in there?" "Yeah", was his response.

He told me she already has a 5 year old daughter, and doesn't really want to get the abortion, but she feels like she cannot support the baby like she wants to. She is 6 weeks, he said.

I just tried to focus more on the part where he said "she doesn't really want to do it". Which lead him to randomly ask me, "So, is it legal, for her?" My response was, "What do you mean? The abortion at 6 months? No." He said, "No for her- at 6 weeks- like....it's illegal right?"

I said, " No ! Abortion is legal in this country up to 24.6 weeks in term". He said, "O for real?"

It's so interesting. He literally thought he had found a shady, back alley place that was going to perform an abortion on his girlfriend illegally. He just assumed it was illegal in general. He looked shocked when I told him abortion was legal in this country. He looked shocked and disappointed.

Carolina

My name is Carolina Fernandez, am a New Yorker. Am so excited to be part of this pro-life organization. The way I got involved was on day I was walking on street, and I saw this people with a huge T.V showing how abortion is killing babies they were giving out brochures that said “she a girl, not an option” from that moment I saw that I knew I wanted to involved some how, so I asked if I can volunteer, and they told me there internship program, so I went to there office and started working for them, and so far it has been a wonderful experience.

For me pro-life is accepting that we are humans from the day of conception, we all stared out this way. So what the difference from someone who is alive and one that aborted, they also have right to live. I want to let every one know about this. Most people don’t know how abortion really works, and this organization is doing such a good job telling people going into the street giving awareness and helping girls in the office am so proud to be part of this life charging organization.

No es un capricho, es una vida

Ayer llegó una clienta a la oficina. Ella tenía depresión y quería abortar. Yo desde el primer momento supe que iba a ser un caso difícil. Así que me encomendé a la Virgen y le dije: "Por favor salva la vida de esta mamá y de su hijo y necesito que me hagas caso porque esto no es un capricho, es una vida"

Empecé a hablar con ella y me contó que estaba sumida en su depresión. Me contó que llevaba mucho tiempo sin comer y sin asearse. Y yo, sin perder la confianza en que la Virgen me ayudaría, seguí hablando con la clienta. Después de tres horas me dijo las palabras que le hicieron liberarse del enorme peso que tenía "voy a tener a mi hijo". Acto seguido le ofrecí comida y me la aceptó y me prometió que iba a empezar a comer y a cuidarse.

Este post es para agradecer a la mejor madre. A la Madre de todos. Y para pedirle que nos siga ayudando en nuestra labor.

¡Gracias Mamá!

The Thinker

I got to do my first consulting it was such a wonderful experience. This girl came in wanting to have an abortion after we did the pregnancy test which was positive. We went to get a sonogram and an ultra sound and found out she was 18 weeks pregnant, and found out the sex of the baby which was a boy. After that we went to the consulting room. I explain how far in her pregnancy was and how develop her baby was. I asked her if after knowing the sex of the baby and how develop it was if she still wanted to have an abortion. she had her mind set at yes so I show her the video and how abortions looks like and she stared crying and said she was confused she had done so much damaged to her self by drink and taking pain killer she was afraid her kid was going to come out wrong and didn’t want to have it angrily she left the office , couples of days later I did a follow up call to see how she was doing , when she answered she told me she had big news she was going to keep her baby she said she went home thought about what I said and she couldn’t get the imaged of how abortion looks like and decided to keep it no matter how it came out she even told me she already had names picked out and her family was going to be supporting her and even gave her baby cloths.

Happy Birthday to A Lost Child

There are a lot of things you want to say to someone who is planning an abortion. Things to say to the mother and to the father. You want them to understand what an abortion is and how many risks they are exposing the woman to. You want them to realize the value and realness of the life that is at stake, not to believe all the crazy, unscientific lies they may have heard. And especially, often most difficult of all, you want them to step outside the present moment of fear and panic to think about what their future will be like after they have carried out that decision. Here is a video that expresses exactly that, from the Father's perspective. He didn't realize what they were doing at the time...and now he has that loss forever.

It's a beautiful song, I hope you enjoy and share.



"What I thought was a dream...was as real as it seemed."

Meet M'Kayla

This is the update for a precious baby that EMC was able to help.

Her name is M'Kayla Abigail Torres. Her mother is Victoria.

Victoria came to us this year in hopes to find help with her pregnancy. It was her first baby. The experience of abortion has been in her past, but this time she chose life.

I have not seen this kind of joy before in my life. The day that I first saw M'Kayla, I was able to spend time with Victoria too.

She was dealing with a lot of domestic struggle at the time. Every day when she would wake up, problems were already waiting for her. But even so, she still had the eternal joyous smile of hope across her face that made it inspiring to just know her.

She tells me, "Abby I'm blessed to know you ". Then I tell her, "Victoria, I am blessed to know YOU".

M'Kayla is my god daughter and I couldn't be happier about the situation !

Abortion=Suffering

As a new Catholic, it was a growing experience for me. I was able to concentrate my thoughts towards praying all 4 decades of the rosary in one sitting outside of an abortion clinic in Queens.

The one that I relate to the most, is the sorrowful mystery. Thinking about what Jesus took care of, and did for me at the cross reminds me of suffering. And suffering reminds me of abortion.

I think about the pain coming in and out of everyone involved.

The mother undergoing severe pain in her body from the clamping of the tenaculum on her cervix so that the dilators can do their job in tearing it down to get to the baby. The doctor watching the human fetus being torn apart piece by piece. And ofcourse the precious baby feeling every tug and every pull from the doctor's forceps or suction cannula.

The baby loses his life. The woman loses her motherhood. The doctor loses his conscience.

But at least she still gets to have a "choice".

New Pro-Life Video Site Launched

There are so many facets of pro-life work here and around the world. So many videos swimming around the Internet, YouTube, Facebook, etc. With all these avenues it can be really hard to know what to look at or how to find it. That's why a friend of EMC recently created a website that has many of the top pro-life related videos that you are probably looking for all in one spot.

Everything from National news to personal testimonies can be found on this site, which will probably be kept updated regularly. Check it out and share the site, or even just the videos, with those you know who want or need to know what's going on.

Life is a Right.com

Do you know of other good, helpful pro-life videos? Please, let us know. God bless your work!

¿Dónde están los genios de hoy?

Tenemos muchos genios en la antigüedad que nos han ayudado a superarnos como humanos. Algunos de ellos eran matemáticos, músicos, otros grandes filósofos, teólogos, físicos, etc. Hoy en día parece que los genios han desaparecido. ¿Dónde están?

Me planteo si esos genios que deberíamos tener hoy no le quitaron la voz antes de nacer. Me planteo si no fueron abortados. Mozart por ejemplo se quedó ciego siendo muy pequeñito, ¿qué hubiera pasado si su madre lo hubiera podido saber antes de tenerlo y no lo hubiera querido tener? ¿Dónde estaría hoy su música? Einstein era el 5 de 6 hermanos, ¿qué hubiera pasado si su madre hubiera decidido que ya eran demasiados hijos?

Y el niño que está en tu vientre, ¿qué llegará a ser si se lo permites? ¿Será el genio que hoy nos falta?

Un bebé para abrir los ojos

Ayer una chica llego a una de nuestras oficinas. Nos contó de su vida, de lo complicada que había sido siempre y nos dijo que el padre de su bebé la maltrataba y que por eso se separó de él. Nos contó, con los ojos vidriosos, que ella está muy enamorada de él y que jamás le hubiera dejado si no fuera por su bebé. Su bebé le abrió los ojos. Un día tras una brutal paliza estaba en el suelo llorando sin poder levantarse. Su bebé, de siete meses, también estaba en el suelo y no dejó que su padre le cogiera en brazos. Él gateó hasta donde estaba su madre y con sus diminutas manos secó sus lágrimas. Su hijo le hizo darse cuenta de lo que era el amor de verdad.

Una crítica constructiva

¿Cómo sacar algo bueno de una fuerte crítica?
Hace poco, en el telediario, salió una fuerte crítica contra las asociaciones pro-vida. Entre las cosas que decían se escondía una oportunidad para mejorar. Hablaban de que desde las asociaciones pro-vida se habla de la muerte y es cierto, parece que hablando de las malas consecuencias nos escucharán más, reaccionarán antes, pero esto es un gran error. No hay nada que tenga más fuerza que el bien y el bien en este caso es la vida. Así pues, me propuse hablar exclusivamente de la vida, de la maravilla de ser mamá, del gozo que experimenta la mujer embarazada y del milagro que es a pesar de todos los problemas. Al ponerlo en práctica el resultado fue asombroso. Hoy escribo este post para agradecer a esa periodista por su trabajo, porque con su crítica nos ayudó, contra su voluntad, a crecer en nuestra labor.

A Pregnant Woman Needs Help, Not an Abortion

I was talking to a friend the other day who is pro choice. He works on Wall Street, so intelligence is no doubt evident among his background. He was explaining to me the difficulty he has in understanding the pro life side.

Then he told me that he got a lot of help from his "big brother" from his fraternity in college who happened to be pro life. He asked his big brother, "how does someone like you , who is so smart- maybe the smartest guy I know-, stand against abortion and say the woman doesn't have a choice?"

His big brother responded with a story: There are 2 men and a young boy stranded on the boat in the middle of the sea. They have no food but lots of water. The water lasts them for many weeks, but they still have no food. They are getting to the point of dying from starvation.

The 2 men talk to each other about what they should do. Finally, their conclusion was to kill the boy and eat him in order to survive. A few days after they did this, they were rescued.
They were taken to court. They were on trial for the murder of the young boy. The trial lasted for a long time and the final verdict was guilty.

Both men were guilty for the murder of the little boy and here's why: Who are they to decide which one should have died? Who are they to have that power over the life and death of another human being?

The story has ended, but my point has been clear. Who are we to say a woman can choose over the life and death of her child? Who is she that can demand the final verdict in the life of another human being?

And that's why I stand outside of abortion clinics in NYC with my sign (this one's in spanish because I was in Jackson Heights, Queens) that reads "A pregnant woman needs help, not an abortion".

Stay positive. You're Having a Baby !

A beautiful married couple came into our office in Manhattan. She is in her first trimester, and wants to see her baby.

I set her up with an appointment to get a sonogram the following Saturday. Her husband was with her when she came to see me.

The 2 of them shared concerns on the health of the baby. She was not taking all the precautions that she could have been during the first month of the pregnancy.

They had questions, and we are hoping together, to find answers.

Our sonogram technician will be assisting them with knowing the state of the baby. Our doctor will be assisting them with physical questions they have. And our prenatal care system will be assisting them to walk into a healthier state, both mind and body towards this pregnancy.

After I set them up with these things, I told both of them it is critical to stay positive in thought. They seemed very hopeful. Please continue to pray for them. Thank you .

Happy Turnaround Comes to See Us

Sometimes EMC is so blessed as to have a turnaround come back to visit us. This was such the case when a very special turnaround came back to see us, albeit at an unfortunate location - we were at an abortion clinic, but then again, at least she knew where to find us.

The details of her case are too sensitive to disclose but it will be enough to suffice that she was in a very difficult situation and where she was living was unacceptable. So we contacted another great pro-life organization that runs a network of maternity homes, Good Counsel Homes, and we were able to place her there with some help from us.

By no means is her life perfect now, but she was very happy to see us on her free time one Saturday morning and we were able to catch up some on her life. Moments like these make me very happy to be a part of EMC and working for the pro-life cause full-time.

Helping Women in Any Way We Can

It takes a lot of time and attention to focus on the needs of abortion minded women who walk through our doors every day, but we aren't solely interested in keeping women from the pain of abortion, we also want to help them find healing for pain other abortions may have caused. We are about a lot of things, but the pain of abortion cannot be overestimated (try as society might to sweep it under the rug). So, along with our host of resources for struggling pregnant women, I have also been becoming more familiar with the local organizations that work specifically in post-abortion healing. There are so many women that we know who have been hurt by abortions. Maybe we don't know that's why they are wounded and maybe they don't make that connection in themselves either right away, but we know people who are hurt need healing and people who have been through the pain of abortion are hurt.

So, I have been learning more about ministries such as Lumina, which have a very beautiful and loving approach to women looking for help and healing. These ministries are vital and I try to encourage women to look into them. Maybe simply writing their name on a paper and giving it to them, knowing they can go home and do a Google search anytime when they feel ready to seek help. It's their choice to make the move or not, but with our support we pray they can find the healing and hope that will make them feel whole again.

Great Day at Dr. Emily

On a recent day at Dr. Emily abortion clinic we had five people going into an abortion clinic change their mind and chose life!

Some of the stories I have already written about and some I will write later but I think one of the most striking examples of the beautiful decision to choose life is this picture I was able to take of one of the turnarounds.

In it are two of our sidewalk counselors, Jowell and Chiara, as well as the pregnant woman and some members of her family.

Look at how happy everyone is to choose life! This is just one of the many turnarounds we get each week at an abortion clinic and is a great example of the relief many women have once they move past the decision to abort and look to real solutions that would work for both them and their baby.

We at EMC live for moments like these and can't see how anyone can object - no matter if they think abortion is okay or not. God bless EMC and I pray the work we do will continue until no woman in New York even considers abortion.

"You're Actually 8 Months Pregnant !"

A client came to me this past Wednesday who thought she might be 1 to 2 months pregnant. She has been pregnant before, but she had a miscarriage.

I did a consultation with her. She said she thought she would be at least 5 weeks pregnant due to when she had her last period. She really, really wanted to get a sonogram. I told her we don't like to give sonograms until our clients are at least 8 weeks.

I called our director from another borough to ask what we should do. She told me the same thing I told the client, "it's too early." As I am on the phone with our director, the client gets out of her chair, takes my hand, and puts it on her belly. I put the phone away from ear and looked at her incredibly pregnant looking stomach and said, "GIRL. You gotta be at least 6 months".

I got back on the phone, and said, " I have my hand on this girl's stomach right now, and I can feel a baby. She's gotta be more than 5 weeks." Our director went with her intuition and said, "bring her in".

Sure enough she went to get a sonogram to find out she is a whole 8 months pregnant !

How she thought she was only 1 or 2 months pregnant? I have no idea, but what I do know is that EMC was there to help her. We were there to help her know more of what was going on with her pregnancy.

EMC also carried through with setting her up with prenatal care. We did all the work in networking her to the right establishment to keep her body healthy and to have a safe delivery.

So much suffering

My last day with EMC was spent working in Brooklyn. My heart broke when I heard a certain girl´s story; she already had 2 children, had gone through 5 abortions and on this particular day, was planning to abort her 6th baby. She rang EMC saying that she just felt that she couldn´t go through with it - she said that there was something that just didn´t seem right. She was concerned about the advice she had been given from Planned Parenthood. The poor girl had been told that they could carry out the procedure within 1 day, and that there wasn´t any need to have a sonogram because she didn´t look like she was that far into the pregancy. Upon giving her an ultrasound, we discovered that she was 5 months pregnant! I thank God that she had listened to her conscience and contacted Linda for advice. When I was introduced to her, I felt great sorrow, I could see the pain in her eyes and as soon as I began talking to her, she broke down in tears saying that she couldn´t take any more. We then discovered that she was also abused by her boyfriend. How many more people are out there suffering unneccessarily? Does this not emphasise the broken society that we live in? When will people realise that the only thing lacking in their lives is not money, success or power, but love! Pure and simple love! The saddest thing is that unfortunately, many don´t even know what the word signifies anymore. Thankfully, women experience a taste of it when they enter EMC´s Centres!

Two Great Women

Time after time I see women returning to the centres to say thank you to the special ladies in charge, Liz and Linda. It has been a privilege to work alongside and learn from them. For me, this emphasises the need for EMC in this city. Women who find themselves in the position of trying to decide whether or not to have an abortion need to feel that they are first and foremost respected, and also being given genuine, sincere advice. What makes Liz and Linda so special is that go one step further. They have a motherly affection for these women, I believe it is their great faith and love for Our Lady that makes this difference. They not only save babies lives, they save the mothers´ lives by giving them great hope, love and support. Liz and Linda don´t have a selfish bone in them; they work tirelessly, fighting to save lives. I have experienced so mnay women stopping by the clinic just to say hi and I hear the same sentence over and over again: ´I was planning to abort my baby, but by chance came accross EMC and thanks to Liz or Lindas´counsel, decided to keep my baby`.

What testimony!

God bless you both!!

And more lies....

Here I go again...

I decided to call Planned Parenthood the other day because I wanted first hand experience of their so called 'genuine' advice. I pretended to be 5 months pregnant, wanted an abortion but as it was the first time, I didn’t have any idea as to what to do. I also repeated the fact that I was scared of the consequences and wanted to be assured that there would be no doubt that I would still be able to conceive another child and deliver safely in the future. Here’s what I was told:

PP: ‘Oh, it’s nothing really....it only takes two days.’

Me: ‘Oh, will I feel anything, does it hurt?’

PP: ‘No, you’ll be asleep.’

Me: ‘Will I be able to get pregnant again and are there any side effects?’

PP: ‘Yes, of course you will. They just put the Laminara sticks in you in the first day, and then the suction only takes 10 minutes the next day’. I guarantee there aren’t any side effects, it’s really quick and safe and it costs $1145.

Me: ‘Really, there aren’t any side effects whatsoever? Will I be shown what happens during the procedure?’

PP: ‘No, you'll be asleep. Take care honey, bye’.

So much for the truth! How are they getting away with this I continue to ask myself!!!

Denied the truth

I have been working for just over a month now and Planned Pregnancy never cease to amaze me. I find it very hard to believe how this organisation continues to conceal the truth from women and get away with it.

The other day a beautiful young lady walked out of Doctor Emily’s along with her mother. Thankfully, she didn’t choose to ignore me and accepted my invitation to come onto the bus so that we could give her a free sonogram. When I asked her why she was thinking of having a abortion, she replied, ‘I don’t feel ready to be a mother yet’. This was her first time at the clinic. I asked her if she had any knowledge of the side effects of abortion; if she was aware of the psychological and physical consequences that the majority of woman usually experience. She replied that she didn’t know anything about it. When I asked if anyone had informed her about the procedure and potential side effects whilst at the clinic, she said that they only told her how much it cost to have an abortion and how long it would take. This is what devastates me the most; it is a known fact that most women who see their baby on a sonogram do not go through with the abortion. Surprisingly, they didn’t offer her the option of having a sonogram...

This young woman has her whole life ahead of her, she is in a more fortunate situation than most women whom we normally encounter. Upon seeing her baby, both she and her mother were filled with joy - this girl decided to keep her baby in a instant. They were both so overjoyed upon seeing the baby. ‘Es varon, es varon they exlaimed!’ (Varon=boy in their Spanish dialect). The soon to be grandmother had only girls up until now....

I cannot believe how Planned Parenthood describe themselves as a ‘family planning service’. My understanding of the term ‘family planning’ leads me to think that people are given genuine, sincere advice and information. Obviously Planned Parenthood’s is slightly different.

"I know I should love my baby"

On one of the most successful days I can remember recently at Dr. Emily abortion clinic I met a young girl who knew she was pregnant. While I wouldn't quite say she was dead-set on an abortion, she was definately walking into the clinic and probably could have been convinced that an abortion was best for her considering her situation.

Luckily I got to her first.

She was still in high school with a year left to go before graduation but did have a supportive boyfriend and family. She wasn't sure how far along she was but our ultrasound determined she was about nine weeks. She heard the heartbeat, and whatever I had done to encourage her in keeping the baby before that moment was fortified by that sound.

The moment I will never forget was when I asked her if she thought there was a right thing and a wrong thing to do going forward. After she replied in the affirmative I asked her what the right thing to do was and she gave the best answer I have ever heard, "I know I should love my baby."

I will keep in contact with this girl to make sure I can do whatever I can to help her with her baby.