Abby Johnson: Clinic Workers Leaving Could Take Down Abortion

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 24, 2011   |   12:17PM   |   Washington, DC

Abby Johnson, the former director of a Planned Parenthood abortion business in Texas, shared a message with thousands of pro-life advocates last night about how she thinks abortion can be stopped.

Johnson shared her ideas, according to Live Action’s Jewels Green, with more than 5,000 people who tuned in to a national webcast sponsored by 40 Days for Life and she explained how she thinks abortions can be stopped or, at least severely reduced, even within the confines of legalized abortion. With the day that the Supreme Court overturns Roe or upholds some sort of abortion ban or amendment protecting unborn children likely a long way off, webcast viewers were interested in hearing Johnson’s ideas.

Abby said she speaks regularly with people who are former workers at abortion centers or want to get out of the abortion industry and are looking for help to do so. She says she is in contact with such people on a weekly basis and she believes helping abortion staffers leave their jobs is the Achilles Heel for Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry and could be the key to stopping considerable numbers of abortions by closing down abortion centers via lack of staff.

“Planned Parenthood’s greatest fear is that clinic workers will leave and that they will come out against them and that they will air their dirty laundry, just like I did, and they will expose their secrets,” Johnson said.

She explained that the proof to that is in the lawsuit the Bryan, Texas Planned Parenthood abortion business filed against her seeking to silence her from revealing the secrets behind Planned Parenthood after she left the abortion business. Johnson ultimately won the lawsuit and is able to share information about her experiences and insight into Planned Parenthood operations.

Johnson and the 40 Days for Life officials cited another proof — the closing of a Planned Parenthood abortion business in Sherman, Texas that came about after the director of the abortion facility resigned.

Catherine Adair, a former Planned Parenthood staffer in Boston, spoke with Live Action after the webcast and said Johnson’s prevailing against the Planned Parenthood lawsuit prompted her to speak out about her own story of getting out of the abortion business.

“When Abby prevailed against Planned Parenthood in their lawsuit, I felt that maybe, just maybe, I could tell my story,” she said. “I now have the strength and courage to expose the horror I experienced behind the doors of the abortion clinic.”

“We must be fully committed. As Abby said, pro-life is a round-the-clock commitment – everywhere, at every moment. you never know whose life you might touch. I always say someone was praying for me,” Adair added. “When I worked at Planned Parenthood, I never could have imagined there was life on the other side. I felt so alone and ashamed most of the time. I had nightmares and constant anxiety. I pray for clinic workers that they might be released from the agony of what they have to endure.”

Johnson said pro-life advocates must continue to pray, but she encouraged participants to be more active and do more — such as joining 40 Days for Life and having an active presence at abortion centers to encourage abortion facility workers to, like her, leave the industry.