In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7–2 in the Roe v. Wade decision, nullifying existing state law that restricted abortions, and interpreted the US Constitution as implicitly protecting a woman’s decision to choose abortion under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. This opened the door for legalized murder of the unborn that has claimed over 65 million innocent lives.
In the aftermath of this decision, the prolife crisis pregnancy center movement was launched nationwide. In 1983, the first Crisis Pregnancy Center opened in St. Louis. It was a small beginning, with one staff member, several volunteers, one small office, a refrigerator, some literature, baby clothes, and two playpens. We were young and on fire, fledglings in the prolife movement, in the shifting political and moral landscape ignited ten years earlier. What we lacked in resources and savvy, we made up for in dedication and determination. We counseled, we prayed, we debated, and we kept vigil in front of the abortion clinics week after week.
I was asked to share my experience as the CPC’s first director, and I’ve included a couple of stories that I think are significant:
Ring Those Bells
I was invited to a “Point-Counterpoint” talk at a mainline church one night with a well-known liberal pastor whose first name was, appropriately, “Harsh.” He came prepared for his presentation with plasticine sheets for the overhead projector (yes, it was that long ago!). I came with some volunteers, my Bible, and a few notes. From the start, the pastor’s presentation in defense of abortion rights was a disaster. First, the projector was so hot that his plastic speech began to curl at the edges and finally caught fire. Without his notes, he became disorganized, and his argument, like his presentation, went up in flames. We tried not to laugh, but I wonder if God did. The pastor and I parlayed back and forth, but it was clear that he was floundering without his plastic facts. In a final, last-ditch defense of his “pro-choice” position, he concluded, “Well, it says somewhere in the Bible that we have a choice.”
Somewhere in the Bible? Seriously?
The pastor couldn’t identify the Scriptural reference to make his point, much less quote it accurately, so to help him out, I read Deuteronomy 30:19 to the assembled group. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So, choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.” Could it be any plainer? The place got quiet, and I believe those on the fence in the issue were making a decision.
By then, it was 9:00 pm, and suddenly, something unexpected happened: The church bells began to ring loudly! The pastors looked astonished and hastened frantically toward who-knows-where to turn off the bells, but without success. Harsh looked dumbfounded. We smiled. Clearly, the Lord won that debate… and many others to come. God will not be mocked, and His Word will not return void.
The Miracles We Seldom See
Too many of the stories from the pregnancy center are painful to tell, but some are fun, like the previous one, and others, like this one, still make my eyes well up in the telling.
Many of us were active in keeping vigil outside of Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinic in West St. Louis County. This particular Saturday morning in spring, like every other Saturday morning, we walked silently along the roadside in front of the clinic. We didn’t speak; there were no gruesome posters, no words of condemnation… we were there to walk and to pray, and be a witness to God’s mercy and love. Normally, we would get rude gestures, obscenities, or motorists running us into the ditch, and this day was no different. It was, after all, Saturday at the abortion clinic.
Saturdays were the busiest days, of course, with easily 50-65 clients during the day. The parking lot was full and overflowed to the vacant parking lot across the street. We watched the abortion escorts meet the young women at their cars to guide them to the door, instructing them not to approach or look at the dozens of us along the roadside. They moved in silence, with averted eyes – their decisions had been made. Later, we watched those women leave in the same silence, some crying. It was done.
But this day, something different happened.
Across the street, a young couple got out of their car, but instead of walking toward the clinic, the young man opened the hood of his car. After 15 minutes of watching him, three of us crossed the street to offer assistance. Two men helped solve the problem quickly, but before we returned to our place along the road, I looked at the young woman, and told her, “You know, Jesus loves you and your baby.”
That’s when the unexpected happened: They drove away.
Fast forward to a cold winter night several months later, and I was giving a presentation at a church in Eureka. As I was about to leave, my host stopped me and said, “Before you go, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
I turned, and there she was – the same young woman we met that spring morning –holding her little daughter in her arms. No words were necessary, as that moment spoke volumes.
She smiled, and said, simply, “Thank you.”
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For those of us who have taken the battle to the streets, to the legislatures, to our communities, to women facing difficult decisions, I encourage you not to lose heart. We are instructed to “Rescue those who are perishing…” (Proverbs 24:11), and to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…” (Proverbs 31:8), and so we will. We fight the fight, but the ultimate battle belongs to the Lord.
And sometimes, God will ring the bells or show us the tiny face of a precious life that has been saved just through our showing up and being faithful.
