I completely agree with the subtitle of the recent BuzzFeed article on abortion
which was posted by a member of their staff on November 4th, 2015: “Anyone
who really wants to understand what’s at stake in the debate over abortion
should spend some time outside the places where it happens.”
Except, don’t be surprised if you show up to an abortion clinic and there are no
men screaming at teenage sexual assault victims while the volunteer escorts
hand them tissues. While we will assume that this did actually happen at the
unidentified abortion clinic where the BuzzFeed staff writer volunteers, it is
certainly not an experience that can be generalized. (As a side note, just once
I would like to hear someone justify abortion without referring to rape, which
reportedly accounts for 1% of abortions nationwide.)
How do I know this? Because here in New York City, along with over 300 other
cities across the world, we just completed 40 days of peaceful prayer outside
abortion clinics as part of 40 Days for Life. This is a pro-life movement that has
been taking place twice a year for the last 8 years, with participation from over
650,000 individuals worldwide.
What we witnessed during the last 40 days at the Margaret Sanger Center
Planned Parenthood in downtown Manhattan is typical of what our sidewalk
counselors see 365 days a year and what other local 40 Days for Life campaigns
experience across the country.