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 in 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 that day 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.
http://bronxlifehouse.blogspot.com/
