Family Planning Associates, Miramar Road, San Diego, Saturday, March 5, 2011
News from the Trenches ‘And I say to thee: that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ -- Matthew 16:18 The procession of sixty Christians assaulted the gates of hell with prayers and hymns. As though executing a tactical battlefield maneuver, the procession split in two and half of the Christians followed a life-sized image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the south side of Miramar Road, while the other half processed on the north side. 
When the two groups were level with the building housing FPA, the busiest abortion mill in San Diego, they stopped and turned to face it. The Christians on the north side of Miramar Road lined up along the sidewalk running perpendicular to the main driveway. Monsignor Philip Reilly, founder of Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, led the contingent across the street on the south side of Miramar Road. They lined up on both sides of the image Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the unborn. Anne, one of the sidewalk counselors, reported that a few minutes earlier, as the procession passed by her assigned driveway, she was talking to a young abortion-minded couple who had stopped their car for her. In the back seat was a baby in a car seat. The young father was very concerned when the counselor informed them about the abortionist’s history of malpractice and negligence. He told the counselor that he was not on the fence about this and he didn’t think it was right. The couple was amazed at a photo that Anne showed them of an unborn baby. The young mother started shaking and said that she couldn’t do it. Anne told them about the Culture of Life Family Services clinic and encouraged them to go there. The counselor gave the couple her phone number and they left in a happy mood. A little later Anne spoke with a young man in his car that had just dropped off his girlfriend. He was so concerned about the information the counselor provided that he called his girlfriend on his cell phone and told her to get out of the clinic. She came out immediately and they left. A car drove up with three young women from El Centro. They were indifferent to what the counselor had to say until she showed them a photograph of a 6-week-old unborn baby. They seemed more interested, and said they were not sure if they were going in. The driver confessed to Anne that she was a few weeks pregnant. They parked and stayed in the car for nearly 20 minutes before driving off. Terry, another sidewalk counselor, noticed two girls in their teens who she had seen enter the mill earlier wandering through the parking lot. Terry asked them what they were doing and they responded that they had been in one of the stores. When the counselor confronted them with the fact that she had seen them entering the clinic, they giggled nervously. Terry gave them information on what an abortion procedure is, how it is performed, what it feels like and how it affects you -- physically, emotionally and spiritually. They were shocked when Terry showed them a picture of a 6-week-old pre-born baby. The counselor gave each of them a Rosary and flier explaining how to pray the Rosary. She asked them to at least pray one Hail Mary every day so that our Blessed Mother would help them make choices they could live with. Terry reminded them that God had a plan for each of them and being here was not it. The girls thanked her and left. Message from the bishop San Diego Bishop Robert Brom spoke to participants at the San Diego 40 Days Life vigil there. To watch a video and hear Bishop Brom’s encouraging words, Click Here.
