Abortion Practitioner Quits After Texas Passes Pro-Life Laws

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 16, 2011   |   2:19PM   |   Fort Worth, TX

Abortion practitioner Neal Adam Poch has quit doing abortions at a Fort Worth, Texas Planned Parenthood abortion clinic and local pro-life advocates say a new pro-life law the state legislature approved is the reason why.

Jeff Williams, the coordinator for 40 Days for Life in the large northern Texas city says Poch quit his post as a Planned Parenthood abortion practitioner on Saturday. He credits the new law requiring abortion practitioners to give women considering an abortion the opportunity to see the ultrasound they perform beforehand with prompting Poch to stop doing abortions.

“The abortionist that has been performing abortions at Planned Parenthood is 75 years old and he lives in Tyler, Texas,” Williams said. “For about 13 years he has driven from Tyler to Fort Worth weekly to perform abortions. With the new requirements of the law, his work load has nearly doubled in having to perform the ultrasounds on Wednesdays and Thursday morning early enough in the day to allow for 24 hours before they kill the babies on abortion days.  With the significant increase in workload, the abortionist was unwilling to put forth the additional effort to continue killing babies in Fort Worth.”

“Dr. Neal Adam Poch has performed his last abortion,” he said. “And although Planned Parenthood will likely replace him, it is most likely that there will be no abortions at Planned Parenthood in Fort Worth this week.  And that is an answer to many of our prayers.”

In fact, Williams says constant prayer and support for women from sidewalk counselors has also played a large part in Poch calling it quits.

“The Catholics United for Life sidewalk counselors and prayer volunteers are out on the sidewalk week in and week out every week of the year on every day that they are performing abortions,” Williams told LifeNews. “They are there counseling women and praying.  They have been praying for the abortionist and for an end to abortion throughout all of these years.”

“Throughout the past 40 days, we have been engaged in a concentrated, focused prayer effort standing in Vigil at the abortion clinic.  The 40 Days for Life has been focused on praying for an end to abortion, especially in Fort Worth,” Williams continued. “We have brought all of these forces into the battle to fight against the culture of death.  Through the efforts of Texans for Life, Catholics United for Life, and now 40 Days for Life, we have all helped to bring about change here in Fort Worth.”

Williams says Poch didn’t stop doing abortions because he had a change of heart on abortion, but said, “He quit because of the inconvenience pressed upon him by a change in the law.”

“Please keep Dr. Neal Adam Pock in your prayers.  Please pray that before the end of his life that he will come to conversion and seek and find forgiveness and healing,” he said.

Poch’s retiring from the abortion business follows a report from Texas Right to Life indicating that 12 Planned Parenthood clinics have shut down following a law the Texas legislature approved and Governor Rick Perry signed that revoked most of the funding for the abortion business.