I can’t remember what it was that prompted me. Maybe someone from church had sent me an email with an article or photo that struck a chord. Whatever the reason, there I was at 1 a.m. in front of the computer furiously searching, and reading, and staring, and crying, and searching some more.
I knew what abortion was. More than a few people had tried to convince me to have one when I got pregnant at sixteen. I knew what it was. But I didn’t know what it was. As I clicked through photo after gruesome photo, bile rose in my throat. I stared down at my own baby, asleep at my breast, and sobbed. I had to do something. And so, with sincere intentions, I started down the path to becoming a person I would later grow to hate.
Over the next year, I became involved with an organization called the Pro-life Action League. A sweet older couple, Jim and Barbara (not their real names), befriended me over the phone, and began to train me to become a “warrior for the unborn.” They were thrilled with my enthusiasm, and thought my young age made me the perfect candidate for making clinic calls. These calls were critical, because in order to successfully protest, we needed to know what days the clinic would be performing abortions in any given week.
The clinic worker would ask some routine questions, like when was the first day of my last period? How old was I? By the end of the call, I’d have an appointment scheduled under a fake name, and we’d have all the information we needed.… [Read more…] about From Protester to Peacemaker: A Day in the Life of a (Former) Sidewalk Counselor