From High to Low

Today was an amazing day! A client came in to EMC Pregnancy Care Bronx office. She was abortion minded. She had a 3 & ½ month old at home and didn’t want another baby so soon. After showing her the pamphlet on abortion procedures, Amy and I talked with her about keeping the baby. She was still unsure but I could tell she was starting to consider keeping the baby. We then showed her and another client the cartoon video on abortions. Both women were silently crying by the end of the video.
I took these two women and another one to Bronx Care for ultrasounds. It was my first time seeing an ultrasound done live. I got to hear the heartbeat of one of the babies and the other baby was 5 weeks and 1 day. One of the clients out of the three was still abortion minded. During the ultrasound, Katherine couldn’t find the baby and couldn’t hear the heartbeat. She called the doctor in and the doctor told her that she had miscarried the baby. The girl appeared to be relieved on the outside, but asked for a picture of the baby. When she though no one was looking, I saw her looking heartbroken at the picture of her baby.
I realize how important it is that we are here for these women and the unborn children. No one else is here to give a voice to the unborn.

Juliet Marie

Raising Babies

I guess I never realized just how much it takes to raise a baby. Bringing several carloads of diapers, baby wipes, and baby bottles up to the clinic - and subsequently being told that those supplies would have to be stretched to last four months at our distribution rate - really opened my eyes to that fact. It was something to keep in mind as I counseled a 15-year-old girl, 4 weeks pregnant, who came into the clinic dead-set on having an abortion because, in her words, "I'm too young. I'm just too young."

As Liz, our clinic director, pointed out: "If you're too young to have a baby you're too young to have sex." It was a little too late for our young mother, but she definitely got the point.

Hopefully, some healing tears while watching our videos and some support from her boyfriend will help her get through this situation. She still wasn't thoroughly convinced to keep her tiny baby, but she said she would discuss things with her boyfriend.

If she decides to keep her little boy or girl, she will be just one of several mothers whose eyes were opened to the truth at our clinic today. Her decision, like theirs, will be life-changing; but, at the very least, she will not have to live with the regret and shame that comes with having killed her own child in the name of "choice."

My first few days working for EMC...

I started my internship this past Sunday, May 10th. I didn't know what to expect because working as a pro-life intern was going to be a whole new experience for me. On Monday, I was able to take part in a counseling session at the Bronx's EMC center. I felt the love of God flow through the counselor's words to the despairing soon-to-be mothers at the clinic that day. I knew that we were doing the Lord's work.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we prayed and sidewalk counselled outside of Dr. Emily's Women's Health Center (a.k.a. abortion clinic). This was a moving experience for me because even though I had prayed outside a clinic before, I had never had the courage to counsel one of the women on the sidewalk as she walked toward the clinic doors. On Tuesday, I was very much reserved, but by the time Wednesday came, I was openly talking with the women, explaining that we offered free sonagrams to them and that we cared for their own wellbeing as well as their babies. There were a couple saves, and I am glad to have witnessed God's amazing power.

Today at the Brooklyn EMC center, I was privileged to be able to sit in on, and take part in (to a small extent) a counselling session that took place primarily between Linda (the counselor of the center) and a young couple. I learned a great deal watching Linda counsel. It was clear that the young couple were put at ease with the care and understanding which Linda showed to them. After talking with them, watching a few video's, and talking a little more, the mother agreed to come back for an ultrasound. I was able to talk to the young father. He told me that he did not want his girlfriend to go through the troubles which abortion would enevitably cause her. I believe he will be a good and supportive father to his child and that, as in many cases, once the mother actually sees the sonogram of her child, abortion for her will be unthinkable. I am learning so much here with EMC, and am very eager to bring the wisdom and techniques learned here to save lives back in Toronto, Ontario, my home city.

"Your Baby has a Heartbeat!"

First thing this morning, a young woman named Sandra came into the center wanting an abortion. She already has one child, her boyfriend has two with another woman, neither have steady employment, and she is trying to finish school. It seemed to her that her only option was abortion. At that point, another counselor came into the room and said to Sandra "Do you know that your baby has a heartbeat?" Sandra stared in disbelief and then started to cry, saying over and over again "I don't want to kill my baby!"

Her boyfriend then came into the room and they both viewed the video on abortion procedures. By the end, they were both crying! Sandra then got on the phone with her mother to tell her that she is expecting her second grandchild due in January! Her boyfriend also called his mother, who knew about the pregnancy and that they were considering abortion, who said "I have been praying all day that someone would talk some sense into you!" Turns out the boyfriend is post abortive, and still suffering from the loss of his child. He took information on the days of healing for men and said that he would definitely go. All in all, the power of prayer and of God's love and healing was very strong today!!

Update on Chrystal

See the post from March 11 for the beginning of this story.

Chrystal was a turnaround from last December, one of the most amazing stories we have ever seen. She's about 8 months pregnant now, and unfortunately drama is still happening, she just isn't able to settle down and have her pregnancy in peace. Her husband, not surprisingly, is still a jerk to her and is verbally abusive. One of the last things a mom wants during a pregnancy is stress because it can result in miscarriage, so Chrystal reached out to Clare again. They have been in constant contact throughout the pregnancy, and Clare has been able to get her into various homes. This past week, Chrystal was having a difficult time with one of the homes she was at, she was unable to work out details to stay, so she asked Clare if she could come stay with her at the intern Lifehouse in the Bronx again. Clare asked Chris's permission if she could stay again, (founder and president of EMC) and he thought it was fine.

Chrystal stayed with Clare all this week. She needed help moving her stuff from the Missionaries of charity to the Lifehouse so that she could move it to a program she will be beginning next week in Connecticut, so I drove her and Clare down to the the Missionaries of Charity in Brooklyn, loaded up her stuff, and brought it all back.
On the ride back she opened up to me about her past relationship with her husband, and it almost brought me to tears. Anything that could go wrong with a marriage has happened to her, and from her word she has been faithful and is just trying to be able to raise her daughters. If anything has given her hope, it's this pregnancy.
She thinks they'll be able to get work and be able to raise the kids peacefully.

Another way I see great hope in Chrystal is her desire to give back to others. She said that a homeless man asked her for money on the bus the other day, and she said that she didn't have money but could get him food stamps. She walked with him to the place where she picks them up and gave him some. He was blown away by her kindness, being 8 months pregnant and all, and asked how he could repay her. She just asked him to do something nice for someone else.

We'll keep you updated on further developments. Pray for Chrystal to work out the court dispute for custody of her 2 daughters, for her and her husband to get work, for her to give a healthy birth, and for them to have a healthy marriage!

Looking Up

New York is certainly different from any other place I've lived or done mission work. At the abortion mills in Pittsburgh, where I prayed during the school year, there are "Pro-Choice Escorts" who literally drag the mothers past the prayer supporters and sidewalk counselors.

At Dr. Emily's, that is not the case. It's a bit heartening that counselors can actually speak with the girls to some extent, but discouraging that what is considered a quiet day at Dr. Emily's is a relatively busy day at the clinics in Pittsburgh. With so many women and children being hurt each day, it's sometimes hard to tell if we're even making a difference.

It was cloudy all afternoon. The weather forecast called for rain, and we all brought umbrellas in case. There was even some talk of leaving if things got too bad.

Then, around the time the last post-abortive woman left the clinic, the clouds cleared. Seeing that bit of blue sky surrounded by clouds reminded me that God is in control, even outside an abortion clinic in New York City.

49 calls in 3 days from Subway ads: Bklyn Office Alone!

Just got an update from Linda, the director of our Brooklyn EMC office. We received 49 calls over the past three days (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) from our subway ads, and these calls were only to our Brooklyn phone line, we have three other phone lines listed on the subway ad! The ad reads "Free Abortion Alternatives" and lists underneath it, "Free Pregnancy Tests, Free Sonograms, and Free Confidential Options Counseling." These ads cost a lot to run, but the results are priceless! The centers have been packed and we're saving more babies than ever!

p.s. You can see our ad below on the left of the page.

If he saw that he would know it's not the best for me...

Last Saturday I helped save a baby at our South Bronx pregnancy center. The mom's name was Isabelle, she was a high schooler, 8 weeks pregnant, and abortion bound. The first question I asked her was, "How much do you know about abortion?" "Nothing" was the poor girl's response. She said that she just knew her dad would force her to get one if he ever knew she was pregnant. I popped in the abortion procedures video, its a non-graphic animated video which shows the two most common types of abortions and the typical complications that can result.

It can be easy to forget just how shocking this video is when you have seen it over and over again, but the look on her face reminded me of my first time seeing it.
Her mouth was wide open and she was speechless. Her eyes were wide open as well, and she was almost on the verge of tears.

"I am not doing that!"

She then started to talk about her father. "I know he just wants the best for me, but if I showed him all that there's no way he'd think that's the best for me." She took the words right out of my mouth! I signed her up for an ultrasound and we decided she should wait a little bit before she tells her parents, she knows that it will be much harder for them to want her to get an abortion when she is further along in her pregnancy.

5 More for the Glory of God!

We had five turnarounds in front of Dr. Emily's abortion clinic, the largest clinic in the south Bronx, last Friday! The clinic had changed their hours that week to 12-3pm, instead of the norml 7-11am, perhaps to throw us off. So we watched the clinic all morning, with very few people coming in before 11, but actually got two turnarounds before noon! One had a sonogram in our mobile clinic and decided she couldn't kill something that had a heartbeat. The day dragged on, but we toughed it out through lunchtime and got 3 more saves! One girl was 4 months pregnant who decided to keep. She thought she was only 1 month pregnant, so our sonogram technician Wadiya definitely surprised her and us. Two other girls came out and told us they were going to keep, one of them was carrying twins! So we saved 4 moms, 5 babies.

Go do your surgery!

Clare and Joanie and I think that there's no way you can do this job and not believe in God-- there are too many undeniable miracles during the week.

A 28 year old womanl from Spanish Harlem walked towards the front entrance of Dr. Emily's abortion clinic, the largest abortion clinic in the South Bronx, with her boyfriend last Saturday. He handed money off to her, she said something to him, then he got angry and walked off, screaming back at her "Go do your surgery! I'm going home." She looked heartbroken and turned to me, thinking I was just an innocent bystander, and said "Who does that?! Who just drops off their girl and says, 'go do your surgery?!'"

That was my in. I let her know about how many guys like that I had seen, and how this abortion wasn't going to help their relationship. I was basically telling her to abort the boyfriend, not the baby.

I was able to bring her over to our South Bronx pregnancy center and she ended up sitting with Julie for over three and a half hours! She had two young kids at home and her boyfriend only helped when he felt like it, they were off and on. Her previous pregnancies had been really hard, she was bedridden during and after the pregnancy for a while. She said that she needed diapers for the kids, and right then Julie received a call from a donor who wanted to drop off diapers. She needed size five diapers. All 150 diapers that showed up on our doorstep a half hour later were size 5. So this Harlem mom walked away with diapers from EMC and the confidence that God would always provide.

2 Hours of Counseling!

I had a 2 hour counseling session this morning at the South Bronx Pregnancy Center! This girl was 20-years-old, and only eight months ago she had had an abortion. She was seeking another one with me for her six-week-old baby. I could tell why she wanted one, her family was in shambles, and her mom was not supportive at all. Her boyfriend said it was totally up to her, and she felt alone because of everyone's indifference. At first she acted like the first abortion never hurt her. But when she started to see the pictures, the reality of what her abortion was finally hit her. She then decided that she really wanted to keep her child. I told her that she would be a good mother, I could tell that she had a good heart at the root of it all. She said, "I know I'll be a good mother because I know what a bad mother is like." By the end of it all, a full two hours later, she was still afraid but willing to trust in God.

Receive your Diploma and your Baby

I helped out at our South Bronx Pregnancy Center on Easter Monday. It was a little depressing to think that girls would be wanting abortions the day after Easter, but I knew that they needed hope in the Resurrection more than anyone. I counseled a girl who was my age, her birthday was two days before mine. (It was kind of crazy to think how different our lives were). This was the first time she had been pregnant. Her friend, who had an abortion a couple of years ago, had told her to come to our place on 149th street. (I think she had mistaken our place for the Planned Parenthood across the street). So thank God she came to our place instead. She was undecided on what she wanted to do if she was pregnant. I had her start the pregnancy test and then I popped in the abortion procedures video for her (it's a non-graphic animated video showing the two most common abortion methods and the side effects). She was absolutely appalled. She sounded like me when I was a young pro-lifer. "How could anyone do that!" and "That's insane!" and "It's a full child!". So needless to say, she would have decided to keep her child. The pregnancy test was negative, but she had missed her period for two months, so we suspect that she is pregnant. She's going to come back in a week to test again, and we'll get her a sonogram in a couple weeks as well. She's graduating in a month, pregnant or not, from Hostos College in the Bronx. Diploma and maybe baby on the way!

You can still Soar!

I went over to our South Bronx Pregnancy Center to help Liz out, the Director of the center. It was a rather slow day, but we had one 17-year-old girl who was pregnant and looking for an abortion. So I told her I could give her information. I sat down with her, filled out her intake form, and invited her boyfriend in to watch the abortion procedures video with her. (It's a non-graphic animated presentation, it describes the two most common procedures and the possible complications). She started crying during the video, and asked her boyfriend to leave. She was most embarrassed to tell her mom, because she was "fornicating" (her language, she was Muslim). Because of her faith, she said she didn't want to do an abortion. Her boyfriend was pressuring her to. We assured her that God would forgive her, as well as her mom, and that she wouldn't disown her. We also assured her that her boyfriend would be able to handle it if she told him earnestly that she couldn't do it. And finally we let her know that her future plans of joining the air force wouldn't be lost with having a baby.(Her sister had a baby at 14 and actually went on to get her PhD.!) We then scheduled a sonogram for her at the Brooklyn center for next Monday. We think she'll be a great mom!

"What a Mistake I was about to Make"

A 15-year-old girl and her mother came to Dr. Emily's abortion clinic, the largest abortion clinic in the South Bronx. It had been raining all day and we were starting to get discouraged because it becomes really difficult to speak to women when the weather is bad. They don't want to stop to talk. I was fortunately able to stop these two. I asked the mother if she wanted her to do this, and she shook her head slowly and said, "No." So I took them over to our mobile sonogram clinic down the street. Wadiya, our sonogram technician, showed her her baby on the screen. When The girl saw it, and heard the baby's heartbeat, she said, "What a mistake I was about to make." Her mother had been crying the whole time I was counseling her daughter, and at the sound of the heartbeat the tears ran down even harder. Then mom asked her daughter what she wanted to do, and she just asked if they could go home. So they did. God bless them!

Chris and Maita's Miracle

Chris and Maita are a young hispanic couple, 17 and 16 years old, who came to Dr. Emily's Abortion clinic, (the largest abortion clinic in the South Bronx) early last week. I talked to them in the front of the clinic just briefly, I was able to get out my normal spiel that this was going to be bad and painful for them and that we had help to get them out of this situation. I could tell that they didn't want to go through with an abortion, but like most people their age they felt like they had no choice.

Later in the day, they ended up coming out the back of the abortion clinic because they were having second thoughts about it. They talked to Joanie, (another intern and sidewalk counselor) but again after their conversation they decided to go back in. The boyfriend, Chris, we found out didn't want her to do the abortion at all. After she had gone back in, he had tried to get her out and take her home. When he got to the front desk, however, the Dr. Emily's staff told him that she was inside getting the abortion and there was nothing they could do to interupt. He was despondent, broken down, freaking out, and puffing away at cigarettes with one of his girlfriend's friends in the back of the clinic.

Normally I have giveaway rosaries for boyfriends or whoever may need one, but I was fresh out. I called over to him and offered him my personal rosary and said "Listen man, cigarettes arent going to get her out of there at this point, only God can. You need to pray." He and his friend were visibly moved. He didnt want to take my rosary, he wanted me to pray for him, and I compromised by saying that we could pray together. He helped me say the intention at the beginning, and the closing prayer after we said a decade of the rosary.

After we finished the prayer, I said to him that it was most likely that the abortion will happen, it was getting late in the day and once a girl goes in they rarely come out with the baby. So I told them that they especially have to pray for each other, both for their souls and for reconciliation. But I also told him to not rule out a miracle, and that I had seen crazy things happen there.

Literally 5 seconds after I said that, Maita walks out the back door. "I didnt do it" she mouths to him. He runs over to her, gives her the biggest hug I've ever seen, they start crying in each other's arms. He looks up to heaven and says "It worked! She didn't do it! She didn't do it!" Their friend looks at me and says quietly, "Thank you. From someone who doesn't believe, thank you."

I absolutely couldn't believe what I witnessed, it was no doubt a miracle. I gave them all the pregnancy help material I had and gave them my personal number. I hope to hear from them soon. Personal lesson: Prayer works and always needs to be a part of the work that we do.

The Most Amazing Save

In the begining of December I met a girl who would become the most miraculous story I've had to date. Crystal has been in an unhealthy marriage for the past three years and is currently fighting a custody battle for her two little girls. With a drug abuse history, Crystal struggles to take care of herself, let alone trying to prove to state authorities that she can care for two little ones. Being post-abortive she knows all too well the pain and heartache women carry their whole lives after having an abortion. With all this and more on her shoulders, Chrystal and my paths crossed.

Crystal's husband had brought her to Dr. Emily's abortion clinic, the largest abortion clinic in the South Bronx, against her will. When we asked if we could help her, she screamed out, "Talk to him! He's making me do it!" (Later we found out that he had in fact tried to strangle her that very same morning!). She made it outside the clinic a little later and took down my number. In a couple hours when I was back at the Lifehouse, she called and asked if I could pick her up. I asked Chris Slattery, president of Expectant Mother Care, if I could do this and bring her back to the Lifehouse. He understood the urgency of the situation and allowed me to do it. She came back to the Lifehouse with me, and I immediately tried to contact materinty homes, drug rehab programs, and the Sisters of Life hoping that they could take her in and that her will to save her baby would persist. Unfortunately no one was able to help on so short notice; it was a Saturday afternoon. So with Chris' permission, she stayed for four days. But then Crystal took her own road and I was only left with my Faith that God would keep her safe.

Months went by and nothing happened, save the occasional text message to see if she was ok. One night during the week, I recieved a phone call from Crystal saying she needed a place to stay for the weekend. Chris again thought that it would be fine to take her in. Finding out that she had been with her abusive husband the whole time I felt she had let me down. Trying to be hopeful for her and the baby, I again did everything I could for her. Chris was even able to take her to a methadone clinic to help her out because of her previous substance abuse. By the end of the weekend she assured me that she would be okay with her husband and said goodbye. We still kept in contact though. A couple weeks later she called me back after numerous attempts I made to get a hold of her and told me she was staying with Missionaries of Charity here in NYC at the Pregnant women's shelter.

Just this past Friday, I got a call from the Sisters of Life informing me that Crystal had just left the shelter and her husband was trying to force her to abort again the following day. At this point she was 24 weeks pregnant, right at the legal limit to abort in the state of New York. I couldn't reach her, her husband wasn't allowing her to pick up her phone. Then after her husband had a very prolonged conversation with the Sisters of Life, he finally cracked and let the Lord in. He apologized to me, he apologized to Crystal, he expressed great remorse for his past actions but also exuberance in the future to live for Christ and to try to be a good person.

So finally, Crystal is on her way to delivering a beautiful little girl. She gave me the sonogram picture to prove it! She's expected to deliver June 20. God is good!

Miracles Do Happen!

How often have you seen the bumper sticker with the pro-life slogan "Take My Hand, Not My Life"? It is a beautiful sticker! It has a powerful message, one that became even more powerful on Monday at the pregnancy center that we went to.

We arrived at the center and after group counseling the girls were taken back one at a time to see their sonograms. There is something so beautiful about the connection between a woman and her child at that moment. It is almost like they get to meet each other for the first time. For most girls, you can see in their eyes the confirmation of what they knew to be true in their hearts all along- that they have a baby living and growing inside of them.

One of the first girls to be brought back was still unsure about whether she was going to keep her baby or go through with the abortion. Then the miracle happened. Linda came in and asked the girl if she would like to hold her baby's hand. Then Linda took the girl's hand and put it on her stomach. Everyone was praying that God would touch her heart. On the sonogram screen we could see, clearly and unmistakeably, the baby (who was about 22 weeks old) reach her precious little hand up and rest it against the place where she could feel her mother's hand! It was beautiful!! Then, the baby, as if reaching out to her mother, put her other hand there too! The baby would not let go until the mother removed her hand.

Everyone in the room knew that we had witnessed a miracle and the phrase "Take My Hand, not My Life" suddenly became real to each one of us.

Christina from the South Bronx

This story doesn't have a happy ending. But it shows what's in a day's, and week's, work for EMC. I met Christina Lopez (name changed for this post) outside Emily's one morning about a month ago. She stopped without much effort on my part, and she went to the minibus with me to get a free sonogram. She was a pretty easy turnaround, after she saw her sonogram of her 20 week old baby, she knew she wanted to keep it. However, through the counseling session horrible things became known to me. Her boyfriend, who had been her boyfriend for 6 years and was her first child's father when she was only 13, was violent and abusive, and pressured her every day of her pregnancy to get the abortion.

She lived in government subsidized housing in one of the worst places in the Bronx. I found out that her boyfriend didnt live with her, and when I asked why didn't she just lock him out, she said that he had kicked in the door and broke the lock. Her stuff had been getting stolen ever since. He would just come in whenever he wanted and have his way with her. And then tell her to make sure she got that abortion.

Soo.. I ended up going down to her place that day and bought a lock for her door, installed it, and hung out with her for the afternoon. Clare and I went to Mass with her the Sunday after, and got lunch with her.

A week later, at a subsequent meeting, she told me that she had gotten the abortion. She couldn't escape the pressure anymore, every day he had been telling her that he would do it himself if she didn't get it done. She felt horrible, she cried, she prayed she would be forgiven. She had already signed up for a Sisters of Life retreat before I had to suggest it to her. She was genuinely sorry. I felt so bad for her, and I told her that I forgave her. It was all I could do at that point. Please pray for Christina. She recently moved and said she would call me with her new number, please pray that she tries to keep in touch.

First day reactions

After only three days here in New York I have gotten a small taste of what it means to be truly pro-life. Yesterday I went to the EMC pregnancy center and today we prayed in front of the abortion mill. I was really inspired by the other counselors, interns and volunteers who have given so much of their time and effort to pro-life. It has been an intense experience for me, but it is an amazing privilege to be a part of the lives of these women in need of help and to be there to love and care for a child that I may never meet, except in Heaven. At the same time, it is sad to see first hand the effects of a society that has failed to recognize the dignity of each human person. Today, more than ever before in my life, I realized the need for compassion and love in the pro-life movement. I used to get angry at the thought of so many children dying every day, but as I watched the women entering the clinic today I could only feel love. It is a privilege to offer the women and children- with my prayers and presence- all my love. It is my prayer that God's grace will reach out to their hearts and give them the support they need to choose life.

"That's exactly what I need....."

What a beautiful day it was! The first day in months that I actually wanted to be outside. I knew right then it was going to be a good day in the baby saving business. So there I was talking to the mothers, fathers, friends and praying the rosary in between all the conversations; when I noticed a couple walking in. I wasn't able to talk to them going in but they no sooner came out and I took the window of opportunity to say something. I informed them that we had free help for pregnant women and proceeded to ask if they were pregnant. "Yes" was her answer, "Well how many weeks are you?" I then asked. She didn't know, and I was glad to offer her a free sonogram in our mobile clinic to see. "That's exactly what I need", she told me; then started running on about medicaid or insurance saying that Dr. Emily's told her that's what see needed and so forth. Quietly listening, I ushered them into the mini-bus. At Dr. Emily's, if the women can not afford an abortion they will give them the information on how and where to go to get emergency medicaid which will pay for the abortion. New York State taxes willing fund these abortions.

18 weeks! Wow, this baby was all over the screen; waving, bouncing, and just loved being the star of the show. Much to the surprise of the young parents, their baby was not just a blob of tissue. Finding out what was really wrong, why they really "couldn't" have this baby was soon to follow. Eighteen, still in school, bad relationship with mom, and boyfriend was about to lose his job; no easy situation(never is). No sooner than later, by the grace of God, these two became more and more hopeful about their situation. After talking everything through they were so thankful that I stopped them. Saying that is was a sign from God that they didn't have insurance and the mother even wanted to be a motivational speaker for teens and tell her story. They left that day saying we were going to be invited to the baby shower and to keep in touch!

After all those long winter months of hardly getting the chance to speak to so few girls, God rewards us with a beautiful day and a beautiful baby with two very hopeful determined parents to make the best out of life! Thank you Jesus!

Emily's strikes back

Over the past month Dr. Emily's abortion clinic has been posting signs on thier entryways reading

"Tell all abortion protestors: This is America, Mind your own business."

Pretty absurd. The first absurd thing is that we arent really protestors so much as we are pregnancy counselors and helpers. These women don't know the type of help that is out there for them. The second absurd thing is that even if we were protestors, it's precisely because we live in America that we cherish the ability to say what we want wherever we want. America is "Home of the Free," not "Home of the Moral People who should stay inside and keep their good intentions to themselves."
The good thing about it, which I'll never tell the clinic, is that it actually lets bystanders and neighbors see what they do inside the clinic. The sign otherwise just reads "Dr. Emily's Women's Services Clinic: a Bronx Women's Medical Pavillion." Now that it says "Abortion" somewhere on the door, people know what they're doing in there, and we're actually seeing more support from the community. Bottom line, the truth is on pro-lifers' side. Let the darkness of the abortion industry come into the light, and people will see it and despise it for what it really is.

Lenten 40 Days For Life

Couple hours before Lent began in 2009 a small group of people pray in front of the largest abortion facility in Bronx, NY. At 11:30pm, in a not so safe neighborhood, 7 of us light one hundred little candles for the one hundred little babies who's lives were ended every week at that very spot. Standing in the cold that night, praying for a few hours I had this feeling that the next 40 days were going to be grace filled 40 days. Being able to unite my suffering with the suffering of Christ makes the long hours of standing outside, praying without ceasing, and being mocked at turn to a time of joy instead of misery. I know, because I was taught, Our Lord has a special plan for each one of us everyday, but I feel the Holy Spirit has a shower of graces to give to those who participate in the next 40 day.

As we stood there praying aloud for all the mothers and their babies we had helped in the last couple months; a neighbor man walked by with a newly purchased pack of diapers. A little while later he was back and placed on the ground next to the one hundred candles one newborn diaper and said "For the babies" and walked off. Our hearts were touched. Not only are we there to help save the unborn but to help Jesus touch every heart of all who walk by.

Emily's Closed for Day and a Half!

It was what we had been praying for all these days at the clinic. We showed up Friday morning and found that Dr. Emily's was not doing abortions! It was a sidewalk counselor's snow day. I brought a group of Fordham kids down this morning (Saturday), and again we pleasantly found ourselves useless outside the clinic (minus the prayers of course). Emily's opened up for a brief hour, between 11-12, so we counseled during that period. We found out from a secret source that the doctors were out learning "new procedures." Can't be good, but then again, can't be much worse than what they already do to these babies and mothers.

I wanted to share a quote I got from a Flannery O'Connor novel I'm reading. It's about a father who watches his mentally challenged son get murdered in front of his eyes.

"All he would do was be an observer. He waited with serenity. Life had never been
good enough for him to wince at it's destruction. He told himself that he was indifferent even to his own dissolution. It seemed that this indifference was the most that human dignity could achieve, and for the moment forgetting his lapses, forgetting even the narrow escape of the afternoon, he felt he had achieved it. To feel nothing was peace."

I think this quote captures alot of father's attitudes who walk their women and children into the clinic. It's an attitude of despair, followed by an indifference which is a solution to the pain and guilt they try so hard to suppress. Life sucked for them, it will suck for their child, and so for them it follows--what is the tragedy in destroying life if life sucks?

It's up to us to bring the hope of Christ to these people and help them realize that Christ loves them and we love them, and we want to do all we can to make life easier for them and their children. And who knows, as I'll often tell them, maybe your child will be one to make life a little better for everyone else.

At Emily's

Myself and Julie,one of our top counselors, were at Dr. Emily's.Julie had a girl in our mobil clinic getting a sonogram and a couple pulled up and parked near the fence.Initially they didn't seem interested in changing there minds.They were going in and the man hit his automatic car starter-I think by mistake-and I yelled at him that he started his car.They proceded into the 'clinic'.He came out a few minutes later and I asked to him to just look at our pamphlet which he did.He started reading it and seemed a little dumb founded by what he was reading and seeing.As he looked at the picture of an aborted baby I told him that was what they were going to do to his baby and to not let them throw his baby in the garbage.He started walking back in and I told him to get his lady out of there and he nodded back.About a half hour to 45 minutes passed and the couple came out I asked the man if they were keeping the baby and he smiled and shook his head yes.He started the car and they sat in the parking lot for several minutes.I prayed several memoraries that they would leave and they eventually pulled out and I gave them the thumbs up.Julie had a couple turnarounds so it was nice to see some of the fruits of our labors.We will keep this couple in our prayers as well as the other girls that turnaround as the devil will try and sucker them back to the killing center. Jeff Asmussen