I don’t discuss political issues on any type of social media platform, and I don’t believe that they should ever be debated on any type of text platform. However, I write this not with the intention of debating a political issue, nor to defend a side or position. I merely want to share what has been going through my mind and been on my heart as of late.
When I was a 19-year-old college student, one of the required gen-ed courses I took the second semester of my freshman year at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State) was a public speaking class. One of our projects in the latter part of that course was to prepare a speech and accompanying PowerPoint presentation, in which we researched and defended a position on a current political issue. I didn’t really follow politics, so the best thing I could come up with–the only issue that I felt I could really speak on with even a glimmer of passion–was abortion. To be clear, although I knew what my stance was on the matter, I really didn’t know anything about abortion, the industry, or the statistics; I only knew what the Bible said about life. So the research that I did–which really wasn’t even that expansive–opened my eyes, broke my heart, and definitely affirmed what I believed. But in the nearly ten years since that project, it has remained just that: a belief.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I was browsing articles on a Christian website and found one that discussed a movie being released in the spring–a movie about the true story of an abortion-worker-turned-pro-life-activist. I hadn’t heard of her story before, and watching the attached behind-the-scenes video on the movie opened up a whirlwind for me, especially after sharing the news of the movie with my roommate, who just so happens to volunteer with a local pro-life woman’s health/crisis pregnancy center. Since that initial video, I have watched several videos of the aforementioned abortion-worker-turned-pro-life-activist (which has also caused other pro-life videos, including ones of other abortion-worker-turned-pro-life-activists, to pop up in my Youtube feed) and read her book, which is what the movie creators used to form their script.
One of the things this woman commonly does is speak at pro-life events and to pro-life groups and organizations, and she exhorts those who say they are pro-life to not just believe what they believe but to do something about it. In many ways, her ‘conversion’ can be attributed to people who did just that, holding prayer vigils outside of the clinic where she worked. That first video I watched about the soon-to-be-released film touted that when people pray over abortion clinics and the workers and patients inside of them, the rate of no-shows to abortion appointments rises as high as 75%. And in my heart, something rattled–I need to go pray outside of an abortion clinic.
And I walked further through this new door I opened.
Are there abortion clinics in my city?
I guess I figured there were, being that it’s quite large, but I’d never really thought about it. In truth, I’m sure I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to think about whether or not I’ve driven past one. I didn’t want to think about whether I unknowingly know someone who has had an abortion. I didn’t want to think about abortion being so close to home. But now I needed to know.
I didn’t want to just straight up Google it and allow the creepy internet algorithms to assume something inaccurate about me and then start showing me advertisements that I didn’t want to see. So I decided to visit the website of a national organization that prays outside of clinics–the same one that prayed outside of her clinic, a clinic which their prayers shut down a few years after she resigned, allowing them to purchase the building to serve as their HQ–and see if they work in my area. They do. My heart both leapt and sank at the same time.
Turns out, their next 6-week long prayer vigil campaign is beginning next month, and as I found myself mentally committing to take part, I also found myself visiting the website of the clinic they’ll (we’ll) be praying outside of. Curiosity, I suppose. What did their website say? Are they open about being an abortion clinic? They are. Oh, how they are. There it was, right on their homepage. Medical abortions up to 10 weeks. Surgical up to 20 weeks.
I thought of my numerous friends who are currently pregnant–many right around the 20 week mark or less–and burst into tears. That clinic would happily kill their babies. I thought about my own little (2nd) niece, happily growing in her mother’s womb. Many other clinics in other states, would accuse her of being nothing more than a clump of cells unworthy of life–thankfully not the state she resides in, though it wasn’t many weeks ago that they would have. My own niece. I thought of two friends of mine who recently welcomed a stunningly beautiful, perfectly formed little girl into the world, at 30 weeks along–just a few weeks older than my niece is now. Many clinics would say that that gorgeous, perfect, strong little girl, who doctors said wasn’t developing like she should have been and had to be urgently delivered via c-section, wasn’t worthy of a chance.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, I continued scrolling on the web page in order to see what their hours were, as I’d love the chance to pray there during open hours. I found what I was looking for, but also something that shocked me. You hear of the hate that many abortion clinics pour on pro-life movements in order to further their own agenda, but that, too, hit home, when right on their website, across from their hours was a set of photos of a pro-life crisis pregnancy center (different from the one my roommate works with) that is down the street from their clinic with the word WARNING written across it. An accompanying caption stated, “Don’t ever go here, as they will try to talk you out of having an abortion.” I wanted to vomit and scream at the same time.
I wish I had some super awesome way to end this blog, but since the previous handful of paragraphs took place just last night, that’s the end of my story, for now. I fully intend to participate in the prayer vigil outside of that clinic, which, I just discovered, coincidentally begins at the same time that a proposed law prohibiting most abortions from the time a heartbeat is detected will begin moving through the legislative system in my state. And my roommates and I also plan to go see that movie on opening weekend when it releases on March 29th. (I’ll add that I am not someone who enjoys seeing movies in theaters, particularly the price to do so. However, in this case, seeing the movie in theaters, especially on opening weekend, supports the cause.)
With all the news stories lately about abortion, I would hope that it’s already on your heart and mind, but as I have been convicted, I encourage you to do something, too. Go see the movie on opening weekend. Find out if a prayer vigil is happening in your area. Pray. Pray hard. Google if there are abortion law proposals on the table in your state and pray over them. This is certainly a war, and it is certainly one that won’t be won without serious help from the Holy Spirit. Fortunately, sooner or later, no matter how long and how hard the battle, He always wins.
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
James 5:16
You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside
and my intricate outside,
and wove them all together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex!
Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking.
It simply amazes me to think about it!
How thoroughly you know me, Lord!
You even formed every bone in my body
when you created me in the secret place,
carefully, skillfully shaping me from nothing to something.
You saw who you created me to be before I became me!
Before I’d ever seen the light of day,
the number of days you planned for me
were already recorded in your book.
Psalm 139:13-16 (TPT)
The Living One Blog 