Tag Archives: Douglas Karpen

Pro-Life Volunteers Offer Hope to Hurting at Creation Festival

Posted on by
Translator

Last week, six volunteers and I ran a pro-life outreach table at the annual Creation music festival in Central Pennsylvania. This year, I was surprised by the number of people seeking post-abortion healing.

P1060071One man in his 30s came up to ask how he could become involved. He shared his desire to serve in inner city Philadelphia where he grew up. After talking for a while, he told me that he and his girlfriend had an abortion many years ago.

P1060077McKennaugh, one of our volunteers, talked with a teenager who asked a number of questions about abortion. Her face grew more and more troubled as McKennaugh kindly explained when a baby’s heart begins beating and showed her what a baby looks like at 12 weeks gestation. The teen then revealed that she had had an abortion. McKennaugh tried to console her and offer information about post-abortion healing programs, but she ran away.P1060103

Our volunteer Tiffany listened as another teen shared about how troubled she was by her sister’s abortions. Tiffany offered her information about pregnancy and parenting support, as well as post-abortion healing programs.

These were just a few of our experiences across the four-day festival. By the end, we had given away almost all of our post-abortion healing materials.

We do outreach at Creation every year, but I’ve never heard as many abortion stories as I did this year. Abortion is a painful, controversial topic; and most people avoid it — especially when it has affected them personally. But this year, people opened up to us.

I pondered the fact with our executive director yesterday when I returned to the office, and he suggested that it was because of our volunteers’ attitudes. Thinking back across the week, I believe he is right.

Our volunteers this year were young, passionate pro-lifers who approached people with the utmost kindness and compassion as they shared the truth about abortion. They listened and spoke in love, even to several pro-choice people who approached our table. I know at least one pro-choice person walked away impressed by what we said.

The experience reminded me of how important it is that we be approachable as pro-lifers, that we exhibit an attitude of love. Our young volunteers touched hearts last week by speaking the truth in love. They shared about post-abortion healing programs and pregnancy hotlines, answered challenging questions, and listened to people who just needed to talk.

And as a result, I believe more people today are finding access to the help and healing they need.

If you know someone who is hurting after an abortion, visit RachelsVineyard.org.

Abortion Advocates, What Are You Doing to Protect Women from Other Gosnells?

Posted on by
Translator

It’s time that we ask abortion advocates what they are doing to protect women from abortionists like Kermit Gosnell.

gosnell40These groups claim to advocate for women’s health. Yet they have not taken action to protect women after witnessing perhaps the most horrific treatment of women and babies at an abortion practice in modern history.

Abortion advocates joined pro-lifers in condemning Gosnell’s horrible practice. They were horrified by the case. But that’s where their actions stopped.

It’s clear that these groups do not believe abortion center regulations will meet their goals. Abortion advocates are vehemently opposed to laws such as those passed in Pennsylvania and Texas in response to Kermit Gosnell and the women and babies who he hurt and killed.

It’s time that we call them out and ask: what are they doing to protect women from abortionists who abuse and misuse their patients? And what do they believe our nation should do? If not abortion center regulations, what?

Some may say: “Gosnell certainly was terrible, and he deserves to be in prison. But he was just an outlier, an anomaly.”

The Kermit Gosnell case certainly was unlike anything America had ever witnessed before. Gosnell maimed and murdered women and babies for decades before authorities discovered him.

But there is evidence that Gosnell isn’t the only abortionist who is abusing women and babies. Consider Steven Brigham, Douglas Karpen, James Pendegraft, Charles Rossman. I could go on.

How are we to know whether there aren’t other abortionists like them? Gosnell got away with murder for decades due to the lack of abortion center regulations. The grand jury in Gosnell’s case recommended abortion center regulation laws so that other Gosnells wouldn’t be able to practice undetected.

Others may say: “We should do something, but abortion center regulations are doing more harm than good. These new laws are just shutting down women’s access to abortion. These laws will drive women to the back alley.”

But without abortion center regulations, couldn’t back alley abortionists be practicing on main street? Kermit Gosnell was.

Also, these laws are not stopping abortion advocates from opening new centers or upgrading their current ones to meet the basic health and safety standards required by the new laws. Sure, it takes time and money to build or upgrade anything, but isn’t the money worth it to ensure women’s health and safety?

Still others may say: “Abortion center regulations are just thinly veiled attempts to shut down abortion centers. Anti-abortionists want to take away a woman’s right to abortion.”

Unfortunately, the mainstream media has perpetuated the lie that pro-lifers could care less about women. We only care about babies.

The truth is that pro-lifers are stepping up where abortion advocates are not. We are fighting to protect women from abortionists like Gosnell. We work to pass abortion center regulations because women deserve better.

Abortion advocates have failed to protect women from abusive abortionists like Gosnell. It’s time we call them out and ask them: If you care about women, as you say you do, what are you doing to protect women from other Gosnells?