Some of our walkers pray outside of Planned Parenthood in Salt Lake City, featured in Intermountain Catholic http://www.icatholic.org/article/crossroads-prolife-walkers-come-through-utah-6246841#
I’ve prayed at many abortion clinics before, from Sacramento, Pittsburgh, New York, and elsewhere. Clinic escorts have smeared foul fruit on the sidewalk and turned on the sprinklers to deter sidewalk counselors. Others have dragged snow shovels, turned on car alarms or loud music to drown out the counselor’s voices.
Since starting Crossroads, I’ve seen a lot of sinister and eerie abortion clinics.
In Reno, NV, the abortion clinic had two fences with hedges and cacti in between, megaphones to blare music and ugly words, disturbing signs saying in all caps, “God is pro-choice,” “Pray to end sidewalk bullying,” “Pray to end child molestation by priests,” “Bullies, Molesters, Terrorists.”
In Salt Lake City, we had people yell out the window, “Your mothers should have aborted you all,” “**** you, pro-choice!” and other ugly comments.
And honestly, I can take that. I can take being yelled at or mistreated. It exposes abortion for the evil it is.
In Denver though, my heart broke. Planned Parenthood, that bastion of evil, appeared as a professional beacon of hope compared to the anti-abortion protestors. These protestors were filled with such hatred.
Plastic dolls torn limb from limb and covered in fake blood were strewn across the driveway. More bloodied dolls were hung upside down on strings from a pole, and tossed in baby strollers. Huge graphic images of aborted children were set up all across the street. Homemade signs on ladders yelled in all caps, “Don’t Kill Your Baby,” “Repent or Perish,” and “Choice Is Abortion.”
But the worst part of all was the despicable character of the protestors. With bleeding hate, they screamed at the women entering the clinic. Holding more pictures of aborted children, they shrieked, “We have help for you! Don’t kill your baby. You will go to hell! God doesn’t want you to kill your baby. Don’t be a murderer!” And once they were in the parking lot, the protestors would climb on the ladders to see over the fence and continue to scream at the women.
These protestors may have been anti-abortion, but they were totally immersed in a culture of death. Their screams chased these already scared women into the seemingly professional and caring arms of Planned Parenthood. How twisted.
Love is at the heart of a culture of life. To be pro-life is to recognize the dignity and sanctity of all human life – children, elderly, mothers, fathers, abortionists, staff, everyone. It means to work to understand these poor mothers who are struggling, in pain, and think they have no choice. We want to love them, give them hope, and empower them to choose life.
These protestors had fallen so far into despair that they failed to recognize God’s unfathomable mercy for these women and men who are made in His image and likeness. They forgot to hope. But we have hope. Our loving Father loves these women no matter what. St. John Paul II said, “We are an Easter people, and hallelujah is our song.” We know that Christ has already conquered abortion since He conquered death. That is why we must never cease to work for the conversion of hearts.
There is hope for everyone. And we need to offer it with love.
Flood The World 