The Sonogram Bus: A Fantastic Tool

At EMC, use of our sonogram bus has afforded us with the opportunity to help dozens, even hundreds, of women see the reality of their pregnancy. It is well known in the pro-life world the value of this indispensable tool but I think there is another reason why our sonogram bus is so effective on the sidewalk.

See, most people think that in order to be a successful sidewalk counselor one has to be able to change a woman's mind right then and there in front of the clinic, while that is certainly great it is not the only technique to use on the sidewalk. With the bus available, really all we have to do is have the woman agree to delay her decision, perhaps for just fifteen minutes, while we give her the chance to get a free sonogram - what does she have to lose!


Of course then a conversation inevitably arises, she is able to hear her baby's heartbeat, and maybe even see him or her move - all in the shelter of our bus.

Other advantages of the bus are mobility and privacy. Having it has, in my opinion, saved the lives of many, many babies and helped many, many women that otherwise would have had an abortion.

"¿Por qué nadie me dijo?"

Hoy ha sido un día muy ocupado. Llegaron muchísimas chicas. Entre ellas llegó una mujer de unos 30 años. Quería abortar. Ella tenía 6 hijos y había tenido 3 abortos y volvía a estar embarazada.

Ella solo hablaba español. Yo andaba despistada y le puse un DVD explicativo sobre el aborto en inglés. Cuando volví a la sala donde estaba ella me di cuenta de que no estaba entendiendo pero la encontré llorando. Le pregunté por qué lloraba pero no me contestaba. Ella solo lloraba. Hasta que por fin empezó a hablar y me dijo: “¿por qué nadie me dijo? He tenido 3 abortos. Yo no sabía”

Esta historia es muy repetida en nuestros centros. Nosotros solo le explicamos, según las semanas de las que están embarazadas, que es lo que tiene desarrollado su bebe y les enseñamos que un aborto no es más que matar a ese bebe que llevan dentro. Esas mujeres no saben y quieren saber. Es de justicia que existan centros como los de EMC para que estas mujeres puedan informarse bien.

Esta mujer ahora está llena de gozo por este décimo hijo y quiere sanar el dolor de esos otros tres hijos a los que nunca vio nacer.

Una decisión del César

El otro día llegó una chica a uno de los centros en los que trabajamos. Ella, como mucha de las chicas que llegan a los centros, no sabía si estaba embarazada o no, pero lo que si sabía era que si estaba embarazada iba a abortar. Hable con ella durante horas. Yo le conté de los riesgos que entraña un aborto y ella me contó las difíciles circunstancias que le rodean; tiene 19 años, el próximo 11 de octubre va a empezar a estudiar después de haber hecho muchísimos esfuerzos para poder llegar a ello, no tiene a nadie de su familia aquí, no tiene medios económicos, siente que su embarazo es una gran decepción para su madre, etc.

Después de una larga conversación le hice la prueba de embarazo. La prueba dio positiva. Tiene a su primer hijo en su vientre. Ella no podía parar de ver el test de embarazo y una sonrisa se le esbozó en la cara. Parece que los problemas ya no existen, está llena de gozo. Volvemos al sitio donde estábamos hablando antes. Al volver vuelven también a su cabeza todos los problemas y rompe a llorar. Las circunstancias le superan. Pero me acerco a ella y ella respira profundo, acaricia su vientre, sonríe y me dice: “¡qué bendición!, ¡qué gozo tan grande!”. Le doy una cita para dentro de un par de semanas, para hacerle un sonograma y nos despedimos con un fuerte abrazo y ella me da las gracias por la consulta y yo le doy las gracias en nombre de su hijo.

Pasa una hora. Suena el teléfono del centro. Era ella. Necesitaba hablar conmigo. Cuando me pongo al teléfono me dice que ha hablado con su compañera de trabajo y con su mejor amiga y que lo ha pensado y que no puede tenerlo, no en sus circunstancias. Me dice que el niño no va a tener el cariño que necesita. Le pido que mañana vuelva al centro para que hablemos cara a cara. Cuelgo el teléfono y rezo un rosario por ella y por su hijo. Me culpo de su cambio de opinión, ¿qué no le he dicho?, ¿en qué he fallado?, ¿cómo voy a hacer que mire por encima de todos sus problemas?

Pido consejo. Las primeras palabras que escucho me dicen que rece y me ofrecen acompañarme en mi oración. Pero yo sigo insistiendo ¿y si no funciona? Confía y “si no funciona” es porque Dios nos ha hecho libres, y ten la seguridad de que todo El puede sacar algo bueno.

Llega el día siguiente. Gracias a Dios la chica llega al centro de nuevo. Comienzo a hablar con ella y, por más que le duele, esta firme en su decisión. Le digo a mi ángel de la guarda que le hable al suyo. Y a ella le pido que me acompañe a la capillita que hay en el centro. Allí rezo con ella. Ella llora. Sabe que tiene que ser valiente. Le hablo de la fortaleza que le va a dar Dios, de que tiene que fiarse de Él, de que tiene que abandonarse en sus manos. Delante de la imagen de Cristo y de la Virgen de Guadalupe. Ella me habla de que se siente como el César en época de los romanos con el brazo extendido y sin saber si inclinar su pulgar hacia arriba o hacia abajo y que no va a tener paz hasta que no se decida. Le extiendo mi mano con el puño cerrado y le pido que tome la decisión mientras le pido a Dios que elija la correcta. Ella agarra mi puño y sube mi pulgar para arriba entre lagrimas y me dice: “Amo a mi hijo y no le puedo abandonar”.

"Who did the Father's will?"

Today's Gospel reading really struck me and i felt it was so pertinent to the work we are doing everyday. As it goes, a man sends out two sons to do something for him. The first says he will do it, but never does. The second refuses to do it but then has a change of heart and does it after all.

In the first category I can put myself so many times. Also many other Christians who profess to follow Christ and make so many lavish promises of fidelity, but never actually do anything that he is asking.

In the second scenario I immediately thought of so many of our dear clients. How many came to us set on having an abortion, in essence on saying no to what God was asking of them in the gift of their child, only to have their heart changed and, no matter the difficulties, fulfill his will in the end? These are the ones that did the Father's will, no matter how we might be tempted to judge them.

What do we do when he asks us to perform our often much less difficult tasks?

Abortion Was Not For Her, But Life Was!

I wrote a blog this past Thursday titled "Abortion is Not for Her". I posted information about a girl in her late 20's with 2 children, is now pregnant, and wants an abortion. I counseled her, then scheduled her an appointment for a sonogram the following Saturday. However, she left my office abortion bound.

That was Thursday. This is the following Saturday. This is a DIFFERENT DAY MY FRIENDS!...

I am working at our center in the Bronx. I get a phone call from one of our counselors who is working at our center in Queens. She tells me, "Hey Abby, there's someone here who wants to talk to you". It was her. She just received her sonogram there.

I asked her, "So what do you think about the sonogram?" Her response sounded apprehensive but hopeful , "Yeah...I mean it was cool. I just have to get my insurance together now and some other stuff." I said, "So what are you thinking you want to do?" Her response, "Oh. I'm definitely going to keep it. I just have to figure out the insurance part, but you guys said you would help me with that?"

I was overjoyed ! I reassured her that we would be more than glad to help her get the insurance that she needed as well as see our doctor for free. She has my cell number and was told by me to call or text at any time for any reason.

The details will be worked out. The main thing it SHE IS KEEPING HER BABY !

Thank you so much for your prayers. Prayer works.

Abortion is Not for Her

It's interesting to be a 3rd objective party seeing the decisions a woman is about to make that will change her life forever.

In my mind, her rationalizations do not make sense. The reasoning behind her decision to get an abortion, after she has already had 2 children- ages 10 and 1- is confusing to me.

My client I had yesterday at our Manhattan office is in her late 20's, has a great job, is in a healthy relationship with her boyfriend, and loves her 2 children very much. So the thoughts running through my head when I first learn that she is highly considering an abortion are mainly thoughts with lack of understanding.

One of her biggest concerns is that she fears she will not be able to buy the things the baby needs as well as the luxurious things she wants to buy for herself and her boyfriend. She says, "I don't want to be struggling".

I can see how the situation will be difficult to adjust to at first because babies are expensive, but this woman has already gone through this with 2 other children. She has already had a taste for what it's like receiving one of the greatest gifts in the world.

It is now MY job to knock sense into her. I kept telling her , "At the end of the day, it's your choice honey. But I do want to take the time right now to point out the obvious"..... From there I discussed and listed things she loved about her children that she expressed to me. I brought up the fact that she regretted her last abortion (she got a year ago). I asked her if this would be a decision she could live with. I told her we will help her in any way that we can. I told her she has my support in keeping this baby.

She left my office undecided. I scheduled her a sonogram this Saturday that she agreed to come to. Please pray for her. Her head was down almost the entire time of the discussion. It is clear she does NOT want to do this, but for some reason she feels like she has to.

Dramática decisión

Tomar la dramática decisión de abortar para una madre es una de las encrucijadas más traumáticas a las que se puede enfrentar una mujer. Muchas de las mujeres que deciden acabar con la vida de su bebé arrastan complejas situaciones vitales en todos los sentidos. Muchas de ellas provienen de núcleos familiares desestructurados, combinados con alcohol y/o drogas, relaciones tóxicas y dependientes con hombres, carencias económicas, penurias, falta de educación..., mil situaciones.

Algunas de ellas toman la decisión de abortar ya que piensan que tener a un bebé aún complicaría más su vida. Muchas de ellas no son conscientes de que abortar será lo más terrible que hagan en su vida. Matar a un ser humano.

El embrión es un ser humano. Es la unión de un óvulo con un espermetozoide (fecundación), lo que da lugar a un cigoto, es decir, una expresión unicelular de la persona humana, que crece y se desarrolla para convertirse en un ser completo, hombre o mujer, que nace y vive. Esto es innegable. Y cualquier argumento sobre cuándo comienza la vida humana en un momento posterior es arbitrario y no sostenido por la argumentación científica.

What makes this city unique?

What is it about New York that brings 50 Million visitors a year. 50 Million people from all over the world, there must be something very attractive about this place. And surely there is, with so many points of interest, touristic spots like the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Times Square, Broadway.. the list goes on and on. It is with no doubt, one of the most magnificent cities in the world. People come for the first time and discover what makes it so unique. My first time in New York was a life time experience, I quickly became aware of the charm found in this city. But I also noticed another thing, something that most of the 50 million visitors a year do not come to realize about this amazing place; the large quantity of abortions being done every single day.

New York is not only one of the most visited states in the United States, but it is also one of the states with the highest rate of abortions. This fact became very clear to me as soon as I walked into one of the EMC centers in the Bronx and visited the biggest abortion facility in the area. The EMC staff and interns work intensely to bring light into the lives of so many people walking in desperation and turning to abortion as their only choice. I saw how an entire neighborhood was transformed into a pro-life community by the constant work, prayers and loving witness shown by sidewalk counselors. From all of the breathtaking and inspiring moments I found in New York City, the passionate and faithful work being done by the EMC community was the most inspiring. Thank you and God bless.

to be (drawn) or not to be (drawn)

This is me. A little 5 year old girl drew me. She was saved in the brooklyn center. Last week her very grateful mother came to visit Linda. Linda is the director in this center. She works in a very, very professional way and treats the women so lovely!

A simple example: I was once looking for an informative video about abortions with a young woman. I didn't realize she was scared. And when Linda came into the room she went directly to her and the woman hugged her and started to cry saying she would never do something like this... She is in someway like a mother who encourages the women to become good mothers.

Trini

Hi I´m Trini and I´m from Spain. I´m in NY doing an internship with EMC for three months. I´m here because I would like to help women that can’t find a way out, be able to save lives and learn a lot so that this may help me to grow as a person.

For me, Pro-life means to defend human rights and the Natural Law. It’s the defense of life, of the most defenseless; babies, the elderly and people who have suffered brain damage.

I will tell you about my experience here.

Lives Colliding

In one day at a clinic we often witness so many different types of lives all crisscrossing at once it's almost unbelievable. Yesterday was such a day in Brooklyn, where 10+ girls came into our office within about a two hour time span. Most were abortion bound and each had a uniquely difficult life situation that required a lot of time and attention.

One client had a 6 month old child already and a boyfriend pushing so strongly for abortion. Another had the incredible story of being orphaned as a young child and, in essence, raising herself by holding a job since age 11. She was without anyone, but resolute in wanting to keep her child (even as her boyfriend was making inquiries about abortion and had a wife and 3 children in another country). Such a strong girl, I was amazed.

We also had a couple that had been sent by a nearby abortion clinic for a sonogram. Upon receiving it, they found out they were 16 weeks along, when they were thinking they had just reached only 8.

To round out the day, we had one client who came determined to keep because of regrets from a past abortion, one who had had three children through us before and didn't believe in abortion, and yet another who, having kept her child working with us previously, was almost giddy as she confirmed her current pregnancy and began planning for another child.

Those that were abortion bound, were nearly all turned around by today. Those that were planning to keep their babies were very empowered to move forward with the sure promise of support. God is good.

ABORTION CLINIC KICKS OUT GIRL UNABLE TO WALK AFTER PROCEDURE

My friend and fellow counselor Jowell had struck up a conversation with a girl's mother as the girl was in the clinic. Apparently, the girl was currently undergoing the first day of a two day procedure - the insertion of laminaria sticks into the cervix in order that the cervix would be dilated enough to commit the late term abortion the next day.

Fortunately, Jowell had convinced the mother that this was not the best thing for her daughter - but was it too late?

Maybe an hour after that we were all shocked as the girl collapsed in the doorway of the clinic as she was leaving. She was clearly in bad shape and in a lot of pain. A friend of hers picked up a baby out of a stroller and actually used it as a make-shift wheelchair. In all the astonishment, the girl expressed her desire to change her mind, and with her family's support we were ready to do whatever was needed to help the woman and save her baby.

I contacted a trusted pro-life doctor on the best course of action. Because she was in obvious pain we needed to get her to an ER. In New York, we are never sure how willing an ER doctor would be to remove the laminaria sticks and do whatever is necessary to save the life of the child (many girls, I'm aware, are told that once the sticks are in place it is too late to change their mind - this is a lie).

While simultaneously trying to deal with another crazy situation (of which I will blog about later), I drove the girl and her family to the ER, letting them know that they had to make it very clear to the doctors that they should do whatever needs to be done to save the baby. Jowell stayed with them as a friend and counselor and because he speaks Spanish.

And would you believe later that day the doctors could in fact remove the laminaria sticks and overnight the pregnant woman's cervix closed and the baby is healthy! The other part of the story - the woman's inability to walk was apparently due to a bad reaction to pain killers and the enormous pain she was in. It was a very long day for us at EMC, but entirely worth it.

This has been one of the most exciting saves at an abortion clinic I've ever had the privilege to witness and be a part of. We will keep in contact with the girl, helping her along the way, and I will keep readers of this blog updated.

The abortion pill is not an easier version of a regular abortion

Like many abortion clinics these days, Dr Emily - the one that we at EMC sidewalk counsel at, also provides the abortion pill. I recently had the opportunity to speak to a woman who was trying to obtain the pill from the clinic.

While we were speaking I was talking about the similarities and differences between the surgical and chemical procedures. Clearly she came to believe that the pill would be easier for her than the surgery, however, in my experience, almost everyone who has done both says the pill is worse.

On average, women bleed more, experience a very painful drawn out agony (could last for weeks), and in many cases are confronted with the corpse of their own baby after they 'miscarry'- either on the bed or the toilet or whatever.

She knew she was on the threshold of being too far to get the pill - in fact she was already turned away from another clinic, she was hoping Dr. Emily would give her the drugs. And I think they would have - when I spoke to her she already had filled out much the paperwork.

So as we were speaking we were walking to her car and I was getting to know her situation in an attempt to offer help when, to my surprise, the car she was driving was a BMW.

Now I'm not saying she was being selfish - in fact I came to find out she worked very hard for that car, but I just offer this because it reinforced the realization for me that any sacrifices that a girl must make for her children could be seen as some sort of undue burden. Indeed, even a millionaire would have to compromise the lifestyle they're accustomed to, to an extent, in order to raise children.

Luckily, this girl did not end up getting an abortion that day, but the experience provided me with more of an insight into women in crisis pregnancies, as well as opportunity to educate somebody about a drug that is very, very bad.

Muslim mom and Jewish dad

Often the biggest difficulty in getting over the abortion mindset is fear. It isn't to say that these fears aren't usually quite justified on the basis that a baby will complicate things, but in these situations I believe it is one of the roles of the counselor to show that this fear does not justify the taking of an innocent human life.

I encountered a very difficult circumstance recently when a woman and her boyfriend walked into our Queens office interested in our free services. For the woman especially, but also the boyfriend to an extent, an abortion seemed like a very bad option, but perhaps the best. First of all, she was Muslim and he was Jewish, and they were afraid of what the families would think and how the baby would be raised. Next, her parents were very devout and she was basically living a secret life - her parents didn't even know she had kissed a boy, much less been sexually active for some time.

So she was afraid of their reaction, naturally. But after we discussed what abortion actually was, the spiritual, physical, and emotional ramifications of having one, and the help we could provide - slowly, the fear of an abortion (including going against their own religious beliefs) outweighed the fear of having a child. More positively though, a seed of hope was planted and the hope that accompanies new life and the hope of 'coming clean' and not living a lie from her parents anymore put positive emphasis on keeping her baby.

I have been in contact with this woman since she came in that day and she seems to be in very good spirits. While she hasn't told her parents yet we have constructed 'worse case scenario' plans and she seems excited that even in the worst case scenario she will still have housing and access to medical care.

Of course, many difficulties remain, but the fact is that children aren't the enemy of their parents, and it is one of the great lies of our time that an abortion remedies any of our real underlying problems.

Woman Pregnant with 5 Month Baby Leaves Abortion Clinic Keeping

This week at Dr. Emily abortion clinic there were many cold and rainy days. Luckily however, it is days like this that proves to the community that we are serious about helping woman and committed to limiting abortions and making sure women know they have other options. Although the rain may give us a certain amount of 'street cred,' it unfortunately often makes it harder to talk to the abortion bound women scurrying to enter the clinic and get away from the elements.

However I spoke to a woman on one such day as she was leaving the clinic. She said she was 20 weeks pregnant and left because she felt unsure about the two day procedure. In my opinion, at this point she was still very abortion bound but in her uncertainty about the procedure she was more than willing to talk to me, in the rain at first and then in a corner store.

Through our talk I think she achieved some moral clarity. For instance, she had expressed that she knew abortion was wrong. I suggested that in times when there is a right thing to do versus a wrong thing to do it is always best to do the right thing, even if it makes life harder. She believed that life is a gift from God and when I said that if that is the case, then there is no way God would give us that gift for us to deliberately take it away. Again, these were all things she knew, at least subconsciously, but to talk about it, and to hear it, seemed to cut through the prevailing mindset of - I have to take care of this problem, now.

Perhaps the most encouraging to her was the practical advise I could offer her on account of the numerous women I have worked with in similar situations - pregnant with already a baby less than a year old and small living spaces. Before she left for home she thanked me numerous times and promised that she would call me in the future sometime.

As opposed to what the other side says, it isn't a matter of 'forcing our beliefs' on anybody - it is often just a matter of helping people understand their own beliefs amidst a very desperate time. And in this case as in many others, sidewalk counseling isn't 'intimidating girls as they exercise their reproductive right,' or whatever nonsense the other side wants to call it - it is having a conversation with a more than willing participant.

The fact is, many girls that go into abortion clinics are not already dead-set on having one. And the presence of sidewalk counselors greatly increases their chance to see the light. In this case, a baby that has already been alive for 5 months (a very big pregnancy) now has a much better chance of survival.

hello!

Hello, here I am... a new intern after all sommer-interns are gone.

My start was incredible: one minute later we opened the door of the center came a woman and I have must to attend her... then Jowell came and after one hour counseling with us she went decided to have her child... wow! it works! she will be hopefully a new happy mother!

I learned very much during this first counseling and I am glad to take part on this internship. The next weeks I am going to write about more experiences. See you soon!

Manuel G.

The largest religious event in the world is also the largest pro-life event!

World Youth Day, the largest gathering of any religious group of the year, was a fantastic experience for me. Not only was I able to enjoy the event with some of my pro-life New York friends, like my boss Chris Slattery and the Sister's of Life, I had the opportunity to come in contact with past interns.

So not only was the experience fun to be with my friends, spiritual beneficial to listen to many great talks and participate in great devotionals, but it was also encouraging the perspective of the realization that - I bet almost everybody here is Pro-Life! And by the way, I've heard some estimates of the closing Mass being as many as 2 million people.

Now only if all of these people - clergy and lay - could just try a little bit harder to stop abortions and love women into keeping their babies, I think there would be a magnificent difference.


Pro-life groups are always looking for volunteers and financial help - or maybe there is a need to start another pro-life group. Whatever it is, religious people should be focused on stopping abortion - and devote their time, effort, and money to this cause, religiously.

Pro-life: The global movement.

Recently on my trip to Madrid for World Youth Day, I had a long lay-over in London. Luckily, it was long enough where I was able to leave the airport and enjoy the city for a bit. My first stop was Westminster Cathedral - I was immediately struck by its beauty.

Although not incredibly old (by European standards at least), the traditional style architecture with all of the adornments and chapels was very impressive. Similarly to St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, Westminster is a tourist attraction, but I did feel the visitors were much more reverent than I've noticed at St. Pat's.

What really struck me however, was the bulletin board in which there was more than one pro-life group advertising. There was a post-abortion healing group as well as pregnancy centers getting the message out that there are other options than abortion.

I understand that abortion is a very big problem in England and am glad to see that the pro-life movement is attempting to rise to that challenge. It made me very grateful to be a part of that movement full-time.

Goodbye EMC Internship NY

Hello!! This has been my last work day at the frontdoor of Dr. Emily's Clinic. It has been very exciting. During the last few weeks I enjoyed very much! I have learned many things about abortion, and how to give the reasons to keep the babies. Most girls were surprised about what we showed them, and sometimes it wasn't easy to help them choosing the best for hers, but most of them, at the end, were greatfully. It has been a very nice job. I want to thank you the opportunity of being here and having this experience!! Thank you very much EMC!!Lis Esteban Feliu

See you soon!

This is my last blog. I return to Barcelona because I have to be in my sister's weeding. I enjoy doing this work, helping girls to see that have the baby is a good think. There was difficult moments but the final feel is excellent. I am very happy because I save babys, I can said that some babys are in going to born because I work here.

In an other way, these gils that I could see this week and all the people in the world have to remember that the real finality of sex is make babys, increase the family. The pleasure is a part of them but is not the only think that can be when they have sex. It's is important for that reason to have sex thinking about all the consecuences it has because it seems so easy to get pleasure, got pregnancy and after kill the baby that borns inside their mums. So, I tried to explain that of you have a lot of problems think before having sex about the real consecuences that they have, say no.

Ana.