On this the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, tears filled the heavens as many women entered the abortion clinic to do the unthinkable to their precious babies. Amongst the sadness however, there were some rays of light as two women left.

Upon arriving, one of the counselors approached a car with what looked like a military couple. A young woman emerged from the car while her husband went to look for Family Planning Associates. The counselor asked the young woman if she was going to FPA, and the woman said she was, and asked the counselor where it was located. She seemed to be in a hurry. She told the counselor that she was only here for an ultrasound, and the counselor told her most women coming on Saturdays were here for abortions.

The young woman was also very nervous and the counselor knew she was there for an abortion. The counselor asked her if she was married, and the woman said she was, and that her husband was in the military. The counselor told her of the horrible practice of the doctor upstairs, and the woman began to ease a little, however, she kept looking for her husband. The counselor showed her a picture of what her baby would look like and told her that this could most definitely hurt their marriage.

The counselor pointed to FPA and told her that each week women enter through one door and when they come out, they are completely changed, both physically and emotionally. She urged this young woman to go to Culture of Life Family Services to get loving care. The husband soon came and the counselor repeated to him all that was said and urged them both to take care of each other and to leave this place. They both got into their car and as they drove away the young woman could be seen wiping tears away. Please pray for A. that she open her heart fully to life.

Immediately after, the counselor saw another car pull into the lot. A young couple began to talk and the counselor told them of the horrors of FPA. They told the counselor that they already have four children and it was just too many kids to have. The counselor could see they were not poor, and they told the counselor that it was not about money.

The counselor talked to them in detail about the heart of a mother who protects her children, and that they already have five children and they must protect this fifth child. The counselor showed them a picture of what their baby would look like, and told them both that this would hurt their relationship. They too drove away, but minutes later could be seen on the other side of the lot and went into FPA.

Another counselor spoke with a couple in their early 20s. The woman seemed cold and distant, and the man said nothing. They listened only briefly, then went upstairs. When the man came back downstairs, the counselor spoke to him, and explained more about the trauma his girlfriend would have after the abortion, and showed him what is child looks like at just six weeks in the womb. He was surprised, and said he had no idea. He claimed they were both homeless, out of work, and living out of their car. This was her first abortion, and the man said he tried to talk his girlfriend out of it.

The counselor advised the man that whatever economic problems they had, it was temporary, but the pain of killing their first-born child would haunt them forever. When he said it was her decision, the counselor said, “Maybe she is waiting for you to tell her that you will be there for her, and support her and the decision to keep your baby”. The counselor urged him to go upstairs and bring her out of there. While the man spoke to the counselor for some time, he felt resigned that she would not change her mind, and he would not go upstairs to get her.

A mother and daughter were making their way to the steps at this point, and a counselor talked to them both. The young girl had a three-year-old baby and she told the counselor she had health risks, and the father of this child was not a good person. She told the counselor she was 13 weeks. The counselor showed her what her baby would look like with a little fetal model and the girl began to cry. Her mother had no emotion and the counselor believes that if the mother helped support her daughter, the young woman would have kept her baby. The counselor told her that she could stay in a home for mothers who choose to give their baby up for adoption. They thought about this, but the mother kept saying that they should go talk to the doctor. They eventually went upstairs and the mother soon came out alone without their daughter.

Right after that, a young woman came out whom the counselor had briefly talked to moments before. The counselor asked her if she dropped off her friend at FPA, and the woman said that it was herself that was going for the abortion, but that she had listened to the counselor and decided to leave. The counselor gave her a big hug and invited her to go to COLFS. The woman said she would probably go to Costa Mesa where she is from, and have the abortion there. At that point the woman said she had no ride home and one of the prayer warriors offered to take her home. The counselor talked to her for a short time and urged her to go to COLFS so she could make sure she was seen by a competent doctor.

The prayer warrior later told the counselor that on the way home the young woman cried and told the prayer warrior that she did not want to kill her baby, but she was a drug user and it was not fair that the baby be brought into a world with problems. She told the prayer warrior she had to go home and get her birth certificate. Two days later the counselor called her, and she told the counselor that she believed in God and knew that God would want her to have the abortion, rather than having a baby suffer in life.

The counselor tried to help her see that her words did not make sense, and that there was no way of knowing how the baby would turn out. The counselor told her they would make sure she got good health care for her baby. The counselor talked in length about the loving option of adoption, but the woman thought adoption was cruel.  The woman did not call the counselor back, and so all we can do is pray for this young woman in the hopes that she spared the life of her baby.