Back in high school, I served as the president of a Pro-Life club called Panthers for Life. Together, with a dedicated team of officers, I planned events, led club meetings, and recruited new members. But to this day, I believe the most important work we did was the monthly prayer vigils outside an abortion clinic. Standing on the sidewalk outside that shabby clinic, we would clutch our Rosary beads and pray for miracles.
I prayed outside that clinic many times during my four years of high school, but a few experiences are especially vivid in my memory. God has a way of revealing truth slowly and methodically, but when that truth finally strikes, it hits you right between the eyes.
The Falls Church abortion clinic is not a place where you'd choose to spend your Saturday morning. Situated on a busy street, you're subjected to a cacophony of honking horns, the unpleasant rush of passing cars, and the occasional shouted expletive. The grass beneath your feet is tattered, gray, and littered with cigarette butts. Before you stands the unassuming five-story frame of the clinic. For us Pro-Lifers, the air reeks of death.
But you're not alone. To your right and left are faithful warriors for life, some traveling from all over the state to witness to the inestimable value of these children's lives. Wearing warm smiles, they hold signs with messages like, "Love them both," "Every life is important," and, "We'll adopt your baby." Most stand in place, while some pace up and down the sidewalk, quietly reciting the Hail Mary. Some have been praying at the clinic for decades.
Several paces away, near the clinic entrance, are volunteers in neon mesh jackets labeled "ESCORT" in bold black letters. Their posture is dismissive, and their incessant chatter suggests they're doing everything possible to ignore the steady pulse of the Rosary.
Suddenly, a white sedan pulls into the parking lot. A young, slender woman in her mid-twenties steps out, wearing khakis and a sheer blue shirt. She grabs her keys and purse, slamming the car door behind her. As she strides toward the clinic, her face is turned downward, her long brown bangs shielding her from view. Without looking up, she raises her left hand and flips us off. Despite this, we call out to her, "We can help you! We are here for you!" But she disappears behind the glass door of the clinic. Her posture, especially the way she kept her face hidden, spoke not of defiance, but of shame and fear.
On another occasion, a black woman parked and opened the back door of her car, pulling out a young girl who could have only been her daughter. The girl couldn't have been older than fourteen. I caught my breath as the mother strode purposefully toward the clinic, her daughter trailing behind. Once again, the familiar chorus of offers for help echoed across the parking lot. The young girl turned her head toward us tentatively, but her mother yanked her arm again like an owner pulling a dog's leash, and before we knew it, they were gone. I wondered if the mother had ever considered that her daughter was carrying her grandchild.
The last memory is not as detailed as the others, but it hit me the hardest. It's a simple, unremarkable scene: a girl walking into the abortion clinic. I don't remember what she was wearing, how tall she was, or what her expression revealed. The memory is as blank as an untouched canvas. But at that moment, I finally recognized the presence within her womb - an existence that was whole, unrepeatable, human, and made in the image of God. Tragically, when she left the clinic, that presence would be no more. What remained was emptiness. And something inside me started to hurt.
This is why abortion is intrinsically evil. A fetus doesn't derive its value from its appearance or what it will become once born. The fetus is infinitely valuable because it exists. And it's not just any existence - it is human existence. We know this because it has human parents. And humans, made in the image of God, possess spiritual, moral, and intellectual attributes that set them apart. A fetus has a soul from the moment of conception. All living things have souls, but human souls are rational, destined to spend eternity united with God in Heaven.
There are evil forces in the world that love abortion because it takes away life. Thus, they hate God, who is the Author of life-giving Love. God created the womb to nurture life. But in an abortion, the womb is violently intruded upon, and its contents(the baby) are cruelly dismembered. (I challenge you to find me a woman who didn't experience pain during her procedure). Yet, a womb does not exist in isolation - it exists within a woman, which is why the devil also harbors hatred for women, the crown of creation. A woman has the innate ability to receive and nurture life, a profound gift exemplified by the Blessed Virgin Mary. Instead of receiving human seed, she opened herself to the eternal seed of The Father, the Holy Spirit, and conceived our Lord. So even God Himself once dwelt within a womb.
I believe it is through Mary that the atrocities of abortion will be healed forever. She is the Mediatrix of all graces, making all things pure and beautiful. One time, as I prayed the Rosary at the clinic, the Lord opened my eyes to a profound reality. With each repetition of the Hail Mary, it felt as though Mary herself was cleansing the area of all pollution, hatred, and death. All demons were chased away because they were terrified of her. After all, she is so good. She took all the deceased little ones in her arms and the area was made clean again. And I knew in my heart that she provided comfort to those women who left the clinic without their babies in their wombs.
Of course, the evil of abortion still l remains at the Falls Church clinic to this day. But we must remember that with Christ's death and resurrection, sin and death were conquered forever. So we have nothing to fear. Christ has the final say.
I hope this article hasn't scared you away from sidewalk counseling at an abortion clinic in the future. It is by no means a comfortable experience, but God calls us out of our comfort to stand up for the good of the defenseless. And we have to be there for these terrified and hopeless women. I pray that God blesses you with the courage to go one day. Who knows? You might feel the Immaculate's presence and her gentle movement of hearts.
Note: if you are currently facing an unplanned pregnancy please visit this link: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/alternatives-to-abortion-pregnancy-resource-centers/
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