This morning we had 30 prayer warriors, five sidewalk counselors, and six probable saves.

“Abortion! Is that what you are here for?”

Family Planning Associates, Miramar Road, San Diego, Saturday, September 18, 2010

News from the Trenches

This morning we had 30 prayer warriors, five sidewalk counselors, and six probable saves.

Roger spoke early in the morning with a young Hispanic woman who was driving out of the parking lot alone. He asked her if she had dropped off a friend. She nodded "Yes" but seemed nervous, and only rolled down her window about an inch. He gave her information about the abortionist and told her of the risks and emotional trauma involved in an abortion, and showed her a picture of a 6-week-old preborn baby.

She seemed uneasy looking at it. He asked her how far along her friend was, and she said 4 weeks, but that her friend was just there for an exam, and that they told her she was not far along enough to do anything yet. He gave her a COLFS card and asked her if she would call her friend on her phone and ask her to come down so he could talk to her and give her information. He told her that the doctor at COLFS would give her an ultra sound for free, and tell her about all of the options and support available to her. She kept hesitating, but as she was staring at the COLFS card, she said she would call her "friend" as soon as she left. We saw her hold up one of the forms they give out at FPA as she was starting to drive away, and it became apparent that her "friend" was really she. She left the impression that she was not going to come back for an abortion.

As soon as Anne arrived at FPA, she noticed a car with a couple inside, parked near the Carroll Road entrance. She went up to the car and they reluctantly rolled down their window. They were very quiet, but accepted the information she offered to them about the doctor's record, and said they needed time to think. The young girl said she was over three months pregnant. Anne asked her if she had a procedure done yesterday and she said she did. Anne told her it could be taken out. After some time, they started to get out of their car, and said they made the choice, and it was their choice to go in. Anne talked with the young girl about the fact that she already has a young child and how much she loves that child. She told her she was a mommy now, and she should not do this because it will also hurt their relationship. They got back into their car and drove off, but pulled up closer to FPA and went in.

At 8:30 a.m. a car of Spanish speakers stopped for Luis when he waved at them to stop. In the back was an abortion intent young girl between 12 and 15 years old. She was sitting between a baby in a car seat and a toddler. He took these to be her siblings. The car was driven by a man in his early 70s, and next to him sat a woman of the same age. He took this couple to be the grandparents. He introduced himself, and the grandmother informed him that she and her husband spoke mainly Spanish, but that their granddaughter spoke English. So he gave them brochures in Spanish and English on the malpractice litigation history of the abortionist, as well as well as a copy of the court decision against the nurse practitioner who was charged with abusing controlled substances, and fraudulently altering hospital and patients’ records. He also gave them a business card for the COLFS clinic and encouraged them to go to there. He then showed the girl in the back seat a life-like model of an 11-week-old fetus. He also showed her a picture of the dismembered body of a first trimester baby that underwent an abortion. The girl began to weep.

Apparently the young girl had persuaded the grandparents into driving her, because when Luis explained to them that this is a clinic that performs mainly abortions they were shocked. The grandmother, with tears in her eyes, turned to the girl in the back seat and said, “Abortion! Is that what you are here for? An abortion? You can’t do that, it’s a little child !” Luis told the girl that he understood that she felt this was her only option, but that it’s not. He told her that he had spoken with several women who had been in her situation, and none of them regretted having the baby. But he had also spoken with many women who did regret their abortion. He told her God would bless her because she decided not to kill this baby. This calmed her down. He gave the grandmother a rosary. She said “God meant for you all to be here. God bless you for doing this.” They drove out of the lot.

Anne was able to stop a young man coming down the steps upon dropping his girlfriend off. He was horrified when she told him about the doctor's record and ran up the stairs to get his girlfriend out. Sadly, he came back and said they would not let him see her. She asked him how long his girlfriend had been in there, and he said only15 minutes. She told him there was no way they were doing anything, and he needed to go back in. He was hesitating and left. Terry then spoke to him, and he told her also that he just dropped off his girlfriend. Terry asked him how long ago he dropped her off, and he said about twenty minutes. Terry handed him a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as well as a picture of the 6-week-old unborn baby, asking him what faith he practiced. Pointing to the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, he said, "Wow. I am Catholic, and this is the church I was baptized in (Our Lady of Guadalupe).” He also told her he knew that abortion was wrong, but did not know what else to do. Terry told him it wasn't too late for him to rescue his unborn baby and girlfriend from a life of torment, and that he needed to go back up into FPA and get her out. She told him that an abortion is a serious sin and leads to a lifetime of sorrow. The young man said, "I would, but they wouldn't let me talk to her. She is in the back room." Terry said, "In twenty minutes, nothing has been done. You can insist you need to talk to her. She is only sitting in a room waiting. This is your baby. Your life. Your decision. You must go back inside and get her to come out."

The young man hesitated and looked nervous. Terry said, "Let's pray on the rosary together (Anne had given a rosary to him), a Hail Mary for you to have the strength to go back inside and rescue your girlfriend and your baby.” Then, asking him to hold the rosary, they prayed a Hail Mary. After finishing, he backed up his truck and went back inside FPA. Sadly, he was unable to get to his girlfriend, but he had a true (spiritual) conversion, as he had been spoken to by three of us. He talked at length to Susan, a prayer warrior, and talked about how he did not want this for his girlfriend. Later that morning, Terry, Susan, and Anne spoke to him and his girlfriend (who was now post-abort) who were clutching their rosaries, exclaiming they would never come here again. He said he would speak to a priest. Anne was able to meet his girlfriend and give them both hugs and let them know we were praying for them. She was also able to give the woman a brochure on Rachel's Hope. He also told Terry if he ever came to FPA again it would be to join the prayer warriors.

Shortly after, Anne talked to a mother with her daughter who was pushing a baby carriage. The young girl, who was 14, was on her way into FPA. She spoke English but her mother spoke only Spanish. She told the girl to tell her mother about the doctor's horrible record. They were very concerned, but the girl said her aunt dropped them off, and would not be back until 11 a.m. Anne offered to take them to COLFS. The girl's mother said her daughter should go to FPA. She told the girl to tell her mother, "I am a mother and have a 14 year old girl also. I would never take my daughter to FPA, and I have to treat this young girl as I would my own." The girl smiled, and said she just wanted to see what was happening. They went upstairs and happily came out about an hour later. The young girl said she saw her baby on the ultra sound picture. Luis was able to talk with the mother in Spanish. They left and said they would call COLFS.

Roger spoke with two young African American girls. The driver was the older sister, about 19 or 20, and the passenger, who was there for the abortion, looked to be about 16 to 18. The girl who was there for the abortion already had a 1-year-old baby, who was at home with the girl's parents. Roger went through the probation record of the doctor and the head nurse practitioner. He asked her if she loved her 1-year-old baby, and how she would feel if something happened to her baby. He asked them if their parents knew they were coming here, and the older sister said, "Yes." He told them that they might be upset at her pregnancy now, but that it would all be forgotten with the joy of another grandchild, and that they would love this one just as much as her other baby.

They sat in their car and listened for about 20 minutes while Roger spoke to them about the importance of family, and that the girl had a responsibility to protect her unborn baby. She nodded in agreement to most of what Roger told them. After a few moments of silence, he said, "Go leave this place now and have some breakfast and talk it over. I know you are not going to go up there. You wouldn't still be sitting here with me if you were. You know it's the wrong thing to do." He pointed over his shoulder to the 30 prayer warriors on the sidewalk and said, "Do you see all of those people? They are praying for you and your baby right now." Both of the girls looked over with astonishment that there were all of those people praying for her. He told her the doctor at COLFS was willing to see her that morning, and asked if he could call for her. She paused for a while, and said, "We need to think about it." He told them to drive to the opposite side of the parking lot (away from the entrance to FPA), and to leave the parking lot and drive around while they talked. They did drive away to the opposite side, but disappeared behind one of the furniture tents. We did not see them come back.

Terry spoke to a young Hispanic couple. When she began to tell them about the abortionist, the young woman said suddenly, "It's too late. I already took the pill. I just came here to get cleaned out." Terry said, "When did you take the pill (RU-486)?" The young woman said a little over a week ago. Terry then said, "Then, it may not be too late. You may still be pregnant. This is your second chance. It is so rare to get a second chance, but this may be yours." Then she showed her the picture of a 6-week-old unborn baby. The young man said, "Oh, wow!" and then, "We just want to go up there and check her out."

Terry said, "Listen, if you go up there they get paid to talk you into an abortion. You may still be pregnant, but they will tell you that you are not. Please don't let them take away your second chance." Then she told them about a young woman who had come to FPA about a month ago, who also had been given the RU-486, and not only did it not work, she experienced severe problems. She also told them of the other young woman she spoke to who had almost hemorrhaged to death after being given the RU-486 at this same clinic. Both woman had regretted their decision, but it was too late. Terry then told the young woman she had a doctor who could see her today, who would give her an ultra-sound to see if she was still pregnant. She then handed her a rosary. They told Terry they would call COLFS, and drove in, but never got out of the car. Terry and one of the prayer warriors who stayed with her by the driveway intensified their prayers for this couple. After about fifteen minutes, the couple (having called COLFS), left FPA and did not return.

Roger spoke with a Hispanic couple in their late 30s. The woman was driving and her boyfriend was in the passenger seat. Roger gave her all of the information and began to tell them about the regret and emotional pain they would feel, particularly around the holidays when the memories would haunt them about the little child that should be with them. She had a nervous smile, while the boyfriend had a serious look on his face, nodding in agreement with everything Roger was saying. When Roger showed her the 12-week rubber fetal model, she let out a nervous laugh, and he thought she would drive away, but she kept listening. He urged them to call COLFS, and told them that a doctor would see them for free, and help them work through any problems that were making them come here. He told them not to go in there today, that it was like pulling the trigger on a gun: "You can't take the bullet back."

She was no longer giving a nervous smile now. She said, "Why are you doing this? Are you pro-life?" Roger said, "I'm doing this for two reasons. First, I am concerned that you could be hurt by this doctor. The only doctors that do abortions are the ones that can't do anything else. Any place you go for an abortion, the doctors are going to be the scum of the earth, because doctors are supposed to save lives, not to kill them and ruin people's lives." The boyfriend was nodding yes to all of this. Before he could get to the second reason, she said they would talk about it and drove into the lot.

They weren't in the lot more than 3 to 5 minutes when they drove to the exit where Terry was standing. When she spoke to them, they showed her fliers Roger had given them. The woman had been crying and her boyfriend said, "We're not going to do it." However, Terry sensed it was the boyfriend who was the one supporting leaving, and the woman was still hesitant by the look on her face. She said to the woman, “I know you may still be very afraid about this decision, perhaps because you have two young children already. Just know you made the right decision, that God will help you raise your children with any stress you have right now. Please call the number on that card so that we can help you in all the of the areas that you need. You will never regret this decision.” The man was smiling broadly and the woman said they would. Then they drove out.

It was a very busy morning, but it felt like we had an army of angels behind us. Please continue to pray for all of these women who chose not to have the abortion, that they will contact COLFS, and will continue to choose life for their unborn babies. Please pray also, for all of those women who did have an abortion, that they will seek God's forgiveness.