I met Angela Michael outside an abortion clinic in October. It was a new experience for me, but nothing new to the former obstetrical nurse dressed in scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck. Michael and her husband are often outside abortion clinics, urging young women to come to their camper parked nearby and look at a sonogram of their unborn baby before deciding to end its life.
I was in Metro East to report on Illinois’ “progressive” abortion law, signed by Gov. Pritzker this year, making abortion legal through all nine months of pregnancy. A new facility was opening in Fairview Heights that would see up to 11,000 women a year—and abort many of their babies.
At another clinic in Granite City, I watched as young women exited the clinic in a daze, alone for the most part. It made me think back to the few times I’ve had out-patient surgery and was wheeled outside to a waiting car. They seemed unsteady on their feet and appeared to be looking anxiously for their drivers. Only one young girl exited the building accompanied, leaning heavily on an older couple.
Later in Fairview Heights, I covered pro-life protests at the dedication of the new Planned Parenthood Clinic. Protestors prayed outside the fence, while speakers on the other side shared stories about their abortions. As the crowd applauded, one toddler would mimic their applause and laugh. It was poignant to watch that little boy who himself hadn’t been born so long ago.
I’ve collected change in baby bottles for pro-life pregnancy centers. I’ve prayed for the end of abortion in the U.S. But the most important lesson I learned outside the abortion clinics is that we can’t give up. With the Michaels and others like them, we have to stand for life in Illinois. There are 40 or more facilities providing abortions in Illinois, and state leaders are still working to make Illinois the abortion hub of the Midwest. But, as Paul told the Galatians, “Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.”
Lisa Misner is IBSA’s social media and public policy manager.