I have been pro-life my whole life, but never spent time outside an abortion facility trying to talk to the mothers and workers as they go in.  No good reason I hadn’t…I just hadn’t gotten around to it.  I felt like it was time to experience it for myself to see what it was like.

I’ve often heard these facilities described as dark, cold places…but that description doesn’t really do it justice.  As I walked up, I could almost feel myself becoming sadder…there was an evil presence there that was undeniable.  The building itself was cold and drab, and it felt almost like a black hole sucking the life out of anyone around it.  I know that sounds like hyperbole, but that’s the only way to describe the feeling as I walked up.

I had the honor and privilege of being there with a few great pro-life volunteers.  These women were not the wild-eyed “radicals” that abortion advocates like to portray them as, but rather loving, caring individuals (some of whom have personally experienced the horrors of abortion) who only want to help the women going in.  Generally, as one tried to talk to the women, the rest of us hung back and prayed.  At no time did we do anything to intimidate these women or block their access, unlike the popular narrative of the pro-abortion crowd. We simply tried to show them that the child inside them was not a burden or an inconvenience, but a life that needed protected.

Across the alley from the center parking lot where we were, there is a house owned by a pro-life organization called Undefeated Courage (for more on Undefeated Courage, listen to this interview I recently did with their President, Becky Biter).  This house is a place where sidewalk counselors can sit down with women in privacy, share with them the truth about abortion, and provide for them information about the resources available to them if they choose life. Upstairs they have outfitted the room facing the abortion center as a chapel where people come and pray for those going in to the abortion. What struck me most about the house was its warm, inviting feel…in stark contrast to the cold, heartless building across the street that offered nothing but death and suffering.

I wish I could say for sure we saved a baby’s life by our presence while I was there.  We know there was one man and woman who went in, but didn’t stay very long before leaving, so there is some likelihood they changed their minds, but we don’t know for sure.  As one of the volunteers stated, we’ll know when we get to heaven and meet those we saved.  I can tell you that it was an experience I will never forget, and I will do again soon.  My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner, and I encourage all who read this to get involved…either by joining sidewalk counselors as I did, helping with a pro-life pregnancy center, or in whatever other way you feel comfortable. Lives are at stake!