“Why did she do it?”

News from the Trenches

MODESTO

A volunteer at the 40 Days for Life vigil outside the abortion center in Modesto struck up a conversation with a man on the sidewalk, showing him a model of what the child in the womb looks like at 12 weeks.

Never, he said, had anyone in his family ever had anything to do with an abortion — until that day. He told her he had driven his son and his girlfriend to the abortion center to schedule the abortion of his grandson. The three left shortly afterward, and returned the next day.

This time, another volunteer approached the man and showed him an image from the brochure — the child in the womb at 16 weeks. That “really seemed to change his mind,” said the volunteer. “When he saw how developed his 17-week-old was, his eyes sort of bugged and he immediately rushed back into the abortion center to try and stop the abortion.”

Later on, the first volunteer saw the three of them driving out of the parking lot. They rolled down their window and told her they had changed their mind!

GLENDALE

“Our ‘Women DO Regret Abortion’ and ‘Men Regret Lost Fatherhood’ signs were out as we prayed for all those affected by abortion,” Steve said, as Bill — a man in his early 40s — walked by, pushing a young girl in a stroller.

“What you do here — does it work?” he asked. “Yes,” Steve responded. “We pray for the women, the babies and the abortion workers and sometimes they change their minds.”

“My wife, she had an abortion here last Friday,” Bill said.

Steve was a bit stunned. “I am so sorry for your loss,” he said. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Bill said. “I just don’t understand. Why did she do it?”

His wife was having problems with morning sickness, but Bill kept telling her in a couple more weeks it would be okay. “Now, my wife is sad and says that she regrets that she did it.”

Steve and another man encouraged Bill to seek post- abortive counseling for him, his wife and perhaps marriage counseling together.

“We provided him contact information to several local organizations that would help him start the healing process and to deal with all the emotions he now had and that he would have as the shock wore off and the realization set in that he and his entire family would have to deal with something that has forever changed his family.”

“Could God forgive us of this?” Bill asked tentatively.

“Yes, he can!” Steve answered. “There is no sin God cannot forgive.”

In reflecting on this conversation, Steve said, “I am routinely amazed by how God uses the 40 Days for Life ministry as a means for healing to all those affected by the horror of abortion.”

Still, he said, “I can only imagine that path that Bill will travel now; asking for an answer to ‘Why did she do it?’ when there is no answer. How does he deal with his wife’s actions, coupled with her regret, while processing his own grief and loss?”

“How does he deal with the fact that his wife’s family was counseling her to get the abortion against her husband’s wishes? How does he someday tell his beautiful daughter that she was going to have a little brother or sister, but her mommy decided to get an abortion and by law, he couldn’t stop her?”

Steve knows there are no human answers. “I do know where Bill can find the answers,” he said, “and they are in Christ Jesus, the great redeemer and healer of our souls. He is the only one that can help Bill forgive himself, his wife, his family and cause healing to occur.”

Steve said he is “left with the resolve that there is so much more work to be done to end the horror of abortion. To you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I call on you to join me as an active participant on the front lines … we need you!”

The above reports come to us from Shawn Carney of 40 Days for Life.