holding their vigils outside Planned Parenthood
facilities, it's no surprise that I get a lot of
e-mail about Planned Parenthood. Here are a few stories about how America's largest
abortion chain conducts its business -- including a
report from Houston, home of the biggest abortion
facility in North America -- the 76,000 square foot
Planned Parenthood complex.
-------------------------------------------------------
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
------------------------------------------------------- Eileen tells the story of a Barbara and her husband,
who had recently moved to Indianapolis and called the
pro-life pregnancy center for an appointment. "During the moving process, Barbara realized that she
was pregnant for the first time," Eileen said. "She
wanted an ultrasound to be sure the pregnancy was
progressing normally." Barbara said she was on her way to the pro-life center
from Planned Parenthood. "I told Barbara that I was
glad she had decided against having an abortion,"
Eileen said. "But Barbara said she had not gone there
for an abortion." Barbara thought she knew what Planned Parenthood was
about. She believed they cared about women. But when
she went there and asked for an ultrasound, she was
told that she could only have an ultrasound if she
was going to have an abortion. Eileen said, "Thank God for 40 Days for Life, for
prayer partners and for sidewalk counselors who really
do care about women." For a picture of the 40 Days for Life vigil in
Indianapolis, go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2495
-------------------------------------------------------
ITHACA, NEW YORK
------------------------------------------------------- "A minister saw us praying," said Mary Anne in Ithaca,
"and stopped to introduced himself. He wanted to pray
over us for protection." Right after that, a Planned Parenthood employee jumped
into the midst of the people praying at the 40 Days for
Life vigil, claiming they had no right to be there. "One of the prayer volunteers proclaimed that she did
have a right to be there," said Mary Anne, "as she'd
had an abortion and regrets it every day." She also mentioned a man who was delivering bottled
water to Planned Parenthood. He told the volunteers
his girlfriend had been scheduled to have an abortion
-- until he saw people praying on the sidewalk outside. After seeing the pro-lifers praying that day, he ran
into the abortion center and found his girlfriend
-- and the two of them left. They're now the parents of
a 17-month-old child. To see photos from 40 Days for Life in Ithaca, go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2495
-------------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON, TEXAS
------------------------------------------------------- A woman walked into the mobile pro-life pregnancy center
across from Planned Parenthood with a coupon for a free
pregnancy test and ultrasound. She was given the coupon
in February -- but did not use it. She had gone through
with an abortion. As she pointed towards Houston’s Planned Parenthood
abortion megaplex, she told volunteers, "I never want
to go into that building again." She said the abortion
was a terrible experience and that she would never have
another one. The volunteers have seen other women who had been
given these coupons -- by friends who had gone to
Planned Parenthood. One woman’s friend told her that she really regretted
her abortion and that before the friend had one, she
should go see "the people in the blue bus." "Even if you think your day in prayer at Planned
Parenthood was unproductive, think again," said one
volunteer. "You never know how God will use the
sacrifice you make to be there and the time you spend
in prayer."
To see a picture of Planned Parenthood's huge facility
in Houston, go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2495
Here's today's devotional from Fr. Terry Gensemer,
National Director of the Charismatic Episcopal Church
for Life...
-----------------------------------------------------
DAY 33 INTENTION
----------------------------------------------------- May we absorb the truth that God is paying attention
to us, and to each human life, personally and
individually.
-----------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
----------------------------------------------------- When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your
fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have
ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him,
and the son of man that You visit him? For You have
made him a little lower than the angels, and You have
crowned him with glory and honor. -- Psalm 8:3-9
-----------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Fr. Terry Gensemer
----------------------------------------------------- How often we ignore the phrase, "stop and smell the
roses" and instead submit to the all too "urgent"
task at hand. Is this tendency what keeps us, at
least in part, from acknowledging that God's care for
His sacred creation is paramount in His own mind? The Psalmist speaks of God's handiwork: the heavens,
the work of his "fingers," and then points to God's
masterpiece - human life. He declares to us that God
is mindful of us. God keeps His masterpiece in His
thoughts. God, the creator of the awe-inspiring heavens, is not
distracted by the tasks before Him. He is not pulled
away, as we might be, by thoughts of something "more
important." God is paying attention to and attending to His
crowning glory, His masterpiece of creation, which
cannot be duplicated or replaced, which surpasses the
beauty of all other created things -- the human
being. There is no way to adequately describe how God feels
about us as human beings. There are no words to fully
portray His love, compassion or desire to be in
communion with us. Perhaps, the closest we can come, is to contemplate
the thoughts of a mother as she gazes for the first
time at her newborn child. God cares for Life. We, as His followers, should take time to consider
the life He has created and called upon us to love
and protect.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
----------------------------------------------------- Lord, you are the creator of all things. Guide my
thoughts to consider your creation in all of its
majesty, beauty and holiness. Guide my heart
especially to your creation of precious human life. Help me to comprehend how essential life is in your
own heart. Teach me to appreciate, love and protect
all human life through your son, Jesus Christ our
Lord, Amen.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
----------------------------------------------------- To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2011day33print.pdf
----------------------------------------------------- For Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life PS: As always, if you have news to report from your
community's 40 Days for Life effort, please let
everyone know! You may leave a comment at today's
blog posting at: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2495 40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
