Today, the largest abortion clinic in the western hemisphere in Houston is open. It’s a sad day for me. Just a year ago, I thought that I would have been celebrating this day; that I would have been at the ribbon cutting, that I would have been at the opening gala.
Instead, I am here. I am traveling, speaking out against Planned Parenthood. Speaking out and exposing their lies and trying to help women heal from the abortions that I convinced them to have.
It’s interesting how our lives can change so quickly, how our “plans” seem to change without our consent. I remember the day I resigned from Planned Parenthood. I had already told all of my employees that I was leaving; two of them knew the reason I was leaving and actually wanted to leave, too.
It was a day of celebration for all of us. I was leaving. I was closing the chapter on eight years of my life and they were on their way out, too. We all thought they would be right behind me; their resignation letter following mine in just a few days.
As most abortion clinics, there are huge doors with huge locks and access cards on every door and access gates, so on and so on. It’s like entering into a prison. I had already turned in my access card and all of my keys. Once that final gate closed, I couldn’t go back.
I remember when that last gate was closing, I had a sudden urge to turn around and catch it. It was a strange feeling. I wanted more than anything to be rid of that place and the work that I was doing there, but it was so final, I could never go back in.
And then, I heard that heavy iron gate close behind me. It was over. Eight years concluded. Eight years of work finished. Eight years of friendships dissipated just like that.
My two friends that were with me cheered. They were so happy for me. I was happy, too, but it was a type of happiness I’m not really able to describe. I guess it was peace… joy.
Well, we know how that story ends with those two ladies. They did not leave. They are still there and they actually testified against me in court. The threat of losing your livelihood is a powerful experience.
I told you that story because today, I don’t have that feeling at all. I have another feeling that I can’t really explain. It’s not really sadness or disappointment. It’s more like grief or sorrow.
I can’t stop thinking about the people I used to work with. I can imagine their excitement. They are searching their new environment for all of their new toys, all of their new gadgets, similar to children on an unfamiliar playground.
The board of directors and large donors are bursting with pride. THEY made this happen, that’s what they are thinking. THEY made this a reality. Women who don’t know any better are looking at this beautiful new facility and wondering what it can do for them. How could something that looks so nice be so bad? They will be enticed to go check it out for themselves.
See, I can put myself in all of these people’s position because I have been in all of them. I have thought as they do. I have lived as they live. I have worked as they work. That, in and of itself, causes me grief.
You know, I donated a substantial amount of money to the capital campaign for that building; my name should be up on the front. I wonder if they printed my name on there? Now THAT is laughable. But, my main grief just comes from all of the excitement this building will stir up.
My prayer is that the clinic workers inside will not feel excited, but, rather,feel uncomfortable; uncomfortable because they will be working at the largest abortion facility in the United States. That they will feel uncomfortable that a portion of their paycheck comes from killing children who could survive outside of their mother’s womb.
I pray that they suddenly do not just see their job as a paycheck anymore. I hope that they feel the sense of tragedy that is taking place every single day inside of those walls. I pray that the community of Houston will rise up against this facility. Planned Parenthood will be trying to infiltrate the minority community surrounding the clinic. I pray the community will be privy to their schemes, that they will not allow them to darken the doors of their churches, homes or schools.
Now is a time that our nation needs to be in fervent prayer. This is not the end of the Planned Parenthood abortion “super-centers.” This is just one of the firsts of more to come. There have already been several built. More are in the planning stages.
We have to pray, we have to plan, and we have to be one step ahead. Support your pro-life legislators, support your pregnancy centers, support your local 40 Days for Life campaign. It’s not enough to just SAY we are pro-life anymore. We must ACT on those words. It’s time to make abortion unthinkable. How are you going to make a difference?
Your last paragraph is SO important! It’s so easy to SAY we’re pro-life. It’s much harder to BE pro-life and even to continue day after week after month after year. Your conversion gives us hope to not give up, that our prayers ARE heard and answered, that things CAN and WILL change, but we need to be faithful and keep on…one person at a time!
I stood outside the new PP facility on their opening day and prayed with a group of about 20. To me, the fact that there were so few of us out there praying was almost as sad as PP itself. When I think of how HUGE Houston is and how many people are supposedly pro-life, and yet there were just 20 of us – I don’t know, it is just disappointing. I was hoping the sidewalk would be crowded with people in peaceful prayer.
Your story reminds me, though, that our prayers can change hearts. Even if it just one heart at a time 🙂
Hi,Superb article dude! i am just Fed up with using RSS feeds and do you use twitter?so i can follow you there:D.PS:Have you thought to be putting video to your web site to keep the visitors more interested?I think it works., Kelvin Dungan
I am a student at uh – right across the way from that facility. I honestly am disgusted at seeing that as I enter campus everyday from I45. Also, I am a journalism student at the college. I actually did a report on the abortion debate in America. I went to the planned parenthood on fannin st – the former facility. To quote one of my favorite movies, Juno(such a pro life movie even if it was made by prochoicers!), “it smelled like a drs. office.” But also, it felt like I was entering some sort of asylum or like you said, a prison. All my camera equipment set off the detectors.
As soon as I finish my blog post on this – I will give you the address.
Peace.
I have read every word you have written here. It gives me a good point of view in a lot of topics now. I’m sure it can do the same for others as well.
Hi Abby! I’ve been taking time to read through what you have written – and in this case, I’m replying to something you wrote months ago.
I agree with everything you said – except one thing. You said, “I pray … that they will not allow them to darken the doors of their churches, homes, or schools.” Well, yes, I would certainly want to keep them out of our schools. But our churches? I once heard a preacher say, “The church is not a country club for saints, but a hospital for sinners.” Let’s remember that. These people DESPERATELY NEED to come to church and hear God’s message of repentance, forgiveness, and healing. To close our churches to them, or to make them feel in any way unwelcome, would, in my opinion, fly in the face of what Jesus said about seeing not the righteous, but sinners.
Keep up the good work, Abby. We all love and appreciate you.
Hi Abby! I tried to send this a moment ago, but somehow it got lost.
I agree with all of what you said – except for one thing. You wrote, “I pray … that they will not allow them to darken the doors of our churches, our homes, or our schools.” Well, yes, I would certainly want to keep them out of our schools. But not our churches. These people DESPERATELY NEED to come to church and hear God’s message of repentance, forgiveness, and healing. I once heard the late Moishe Rosen (founder of Jews of Jesus) say, “The church is not a country club for saints but a hospital for sinners.” Let’s remember that. To close the doors of our churches to people involved in the abortion industry, or to make them feel unwelcome in any way, would, in my opinion, fly in the face of what Jesus said about coming to call not righteous people, but sinners. Let’s never forget that.
Keep up the good work, Abby. We all love and appreciate you.
No, David. That’s not what I meant. If you re-read it, you will see that I meant their schemes. That their schemes would not darken the door of our churches, our homes or our schools. I would NEVER advocate for shunning a member of the Planned Parenthood community away from worship.