The following came in an Apr. 15 email from one of California Catholic’s correspondents.

Below, a brief summary of some encounters our parish group experienced while praying during the 40 Days for Life Vigil in front of a Planned Parenthood center located in a southern California coastal town.

We met to pray outside Planned Parenthood for one hour twice a week. We were joined at times by others from other parishes. Our numbers varied. For two hours per week these last six weeks we had anywhere from two to seven persons at either one of our scheduled hours. We mostly prayed the Joyful, Sorrowful or Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Encounter 1. A man riding on bicycle stopped. He told us that he had seen us again and again and it had ‘got [him] to thinking.’ He ‘believed what we were doing was right.’ He told us how he ‘could have been a father today, but his wife, whom he had long since divorced, had had two abortions in order that she could continue in her running competitions.’ As he spoke he appeared distraught. We asked his name, promised to pray for him and his ex-wife. We talked briefly about Project Rachel. We gave the local life center’s phone numbers. As he departed on his bike he told us he wanted to ‘make people aware of adoption.’

Encounter 2. A man angrily ripped up one of the signs (a 40 Days for Life sign) held by one of the those praying. He then became more threatening after being asked by one of those praying if he had ‘brought someone to get an abortion or was involved in abortion somehow.’ Police were called by a bystander in the Planned Parenthood parking lot. By the time they arrived the man had already driven away in his car knowing that someone had called the police.

Encounter 3. A man pulled over to side of the road and got out and told us his story – that he was going to be a grandfather!  He told us that a short while ago his daughter was there to get an abortion but she was moved to change her mind because of the presence of people praying outside the clinic. He had stopped this day because he wanted to thank all present and the others in front of Planned Parenthood who prayed for the safety of his unborn grandchild, his (pregnant) daughter and his family.

Encounter 4. A man driving was driving out of Planned Parenthood after dropping off his teen daughter. He rolled his window down, rosary beads hanging off his rear view mirror, and called over to us standing alongside the driveway entrance. He confidently told us he was ‘Catholic and was for abortion.’ We told him we were there to help both the baby and the mom. He responded he ‘didn’t give a –––– about the baby.’ We asked him why he was there. He told us his daughter was there ‘to get her Depo Provera shot’. We mentioned some of the dangers of these contraceptive injectables and gave him a pamphlet on the adverse effects of different contraceptives. He left with the information.

Encounter 5. A young man and woman were leaving Planned Parenthood. We asked them if they wanted the Life Center’s hand-out, etc. They appeared timid but interested. We asked if they wanted any information about the Depo Provera injection. The young man driving turned and looked at his girlfriend. Then they both nodded yes. They took the information we handed them and then they left.

We prayed in front of the clinic at times when no abortions were scheduled, yet Planned Parenthood had much business. We observed many vehicles entering the parking lot. Most were driven by young people and by adults with teen passengers. Many cars had rosary beads hanging from the windshield’s mirror.

We surmised, having had two previous encounters with PP ‘clients,’ most of the young girls were not there to get first time prescriptions or refills for birth control pills. They were most likely scheduled to get Depo Provera shots.

It isn’t news that Planned Parenthood has been behind the major campaign to push ‘all FDA-approved contraceptives’ under the Affordable Care Act as part of ‘preventive services.’

Planned Parenthood would have us believe it only wants to remove the high costs of getting better more effective contraception for all women. For Planned Parenthood, ‘better, more effective contraception’ refers to Long Acting Reversible Contraceptives known as LARCs. These include injectable ‘contraceptives’ like Depo Provera, or copper and hormonal IUDs or subdermal hormonal implants.

At the same time Planned Parenthood would also have us ignore the adverse effects of LARCs–their abortifacient mechanism; their dangerous health risks, including but not limited to, osteoporosis, blood clots, cancer and death; and Depo Provera’s double the risk of HIV infection acquisition.

In National Review Online (Nov 3, 2011) author Susan Wills reveals that Planned Parenthood and manufacturers of Depo Provera “will have a huge windfall from taxpayer-funded LARC [that] will help offset the pharmaceuticals’ settlements and liability judgments due to deaths and serious adverse events associated with the use of their products.” And this:  “Planned Parenthood stands to profit handsomely from the LARCs. Its website puts the cost of Implanon at $400–600, and of an IUD at $500–$1,000. This is almost as lucrative as performing a first-trimester abortion! Depo looks like a comparative bargain at $300–400 a year, however, office exams when getting the quarterly injections can quickly run the price up.”

There’s even a new IUD on market, the first in 12 years. By Bayer, it’s called ‘Skyla’ and advertised ‘to prevent pregnancy for up to three years’ in order to ‘to attract younger women.’ From Skyla’s online site, ‘Because of the Affordable Care Act many companies now cover the cost of birth control . . . there may be no co-pay, no deductible, and no out-of-pocket expenses.”