As President & CEO of Sidewalk Advocates for Life, I tend to be behind a computer or on an airplane these days.
But some of my most impactful days — when I am directly reminded why this mission is so important — are when I can return to the sidewalk, offering help and hope alongside our valiant Sidewalk Advocates.
Last Friday morning, I was in Denver with two of our National Team members, and we encountered a woman and her boyfriend from Houston, Texas, who were bussed into Colorado by an abortion fund for a chemical abortion. She was given the first of the two-pill chemical abortion regimen to take that day and the second to take on Sunday.
As many of you know, the Ethics and Public Policy Center just released a report indicating that nearly 1 in 9 women who take the abortion pill will experience a serious complication. Finally … reported evidence of what we are already seeing on the sidewalk.
What was so heartbreaking about this encounter was that this woman flat out told us that she didn’t want the abortion. She was just overwhelmed by financial issues and what her boyfriend wanted. We offered to help address her financial needs and fund her trip back home, but she kept looking to her boyfriend. He didn’t want anything to interfere with his plans for a music career (though we tried to help with a plan so he could continue with his career and still care for his child).
The mom agreed to think about our offer of help. We texted a lot over the next couple days.
Sadly, she had taken the first pill. But thanks to Abortion Pill Reversal (APR), all hope was not lost. I encouraged her to contact the APR hotline who could help her and her baby immediately with medical care.
She was in so much pain. She said that the abortion fund paid her entire way there and back, but wouldn’t give her money for pain medication.
Despite our outreach, she succumbed to the pressure and took the second pill.
The abortion facility in Colorado didn’t care that she bled through pads on a 15.5-hour bus ride home. And upon arriving in Houston, she was bleeding so profusely that the abortion facility told her to go to the emergency room.
This was a tough situation, but sadly not a rare one. A woman who didn’t want an abortion but got one to make someone else happy.
She not only lost her child, she also risked her well-being in the process. We’re still texting. And at the right time, I’ll give her healing resources. Because the love of Christ will meet the women we encounter wherever they are on their journey.
Please pray for this mom. We have to stop doing this to women and children.
May God have mercy on us and on the whole world.
We at Sidewalk Advocates for Life will not rest until we reach every abortion-vulnerable mother with the good news of options, resources, help, and hope.