We were thrilled to find out yesterday that the Dimensions Medical Center abortion facility in Des Plaines, Illinois has closed!
Dimensions was one of seven Chicago area abortion facilities owned by the notorious Vinod Goyal, and since last year it has seen a regular pro-life sidewalk counseling and prayer presence thanks to the tireless efforts of Northwest Families for Life (NWFL), a group of grassroots activists headed by local residents Maria Goldstein and Laura Vandercar.
The League was happy to help get Northwest Families off the ground last year. Shortly after NWFL launched, the League’s Joe, Ann, and Eric Scheidler met with Maria and Laura to offer advice and give them a set of signs to use during the times of their abortion clinic witnessing. (These signs direct women to a nearby pregnancy resource center, and they’ve proven so effective that abortion clinic workers have repeatedly tried to steal them!)
We soon realized that Northwest Families meant it when they said they were seriously committed to stepping up the pro-life presence outside the abortion clinics in their community.
The now closed Dimensions abortion facility was one of the sites where NWFL had a presence during the Spring 40 Days for Life campaign earlier this year. Not only that, but they also held a “Jericho March” around Dimensions to mark the 40 Days finale, during which 50 pro-life activists walked around the perimeter of the building, read from the Bible, sang, and spread blessed salt and holy water on the ground.
Clearly, as Maria and Laura proclaimed in their e-mail announcing Dimensions’ closing, “God has answered our prayers!”
I was also edified by what they said next: “Since Dimensions was one of Dr. Goyal’s seven clinics, we have only six left to close.”
Make no mistake: Northwest Families for Life is not content with having just one abortion clinic in their community shut down. They rightly recognize that now is the time to step up their sidewalk counseling and prayer presence even more, and that’s exactly what they’re doing.
Why Did Dimensions Close? City Officials Aren’t Saying
When I called the City of Des Plaines yesterday to get more information about why Dimensions had closed, I was transferred to the City Clerk’s office, put on hold, and then told I would have file a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain any documentation pertaining thereto.
The League filed a request immediately thereafter.
Needless to say, once we receive the documentation, we’ll report on the findings.
Watch this space. And in the meantime, join me in thanking God that there is now one less abortion facility to blight our nation!
LifeNew Note: John Jansen writes for the Pro-Life Action League.
