Sidewalk counselors outside of a San Diego abortion facility watched four police cars show up one September morning as they tried to reach out to women who were considering having abortions.
In an article for California Catholic Day, pro-lifers with Helpers of God’s Precious Infants San Diego explained how police kicked them out of the area around the abortion facility. Fortunately, they said they were able to offer hope to several pregnant women before they were forced to leave.
The pro-lifers said they have been gathering to pray and counsel regularly outside of the Family Planning Associates abortion facility in San Diego. Their outreach is part of 40 Days for Life, a peaceful, prayerful campaign dedicated to helping women and babies find alternatives to abortion.
On that late September day, one of the pro-life counselors spotted two young women walking into the abortion center parking lot. The counselor approached them and learned that they were sisters from Tijuana who traveled to San Diego for an abortion, according to the group. The 23-year-old sister was three-months pregnant.
The counselor talked with the sisters about abortion and unborn babies and shared information about alternative resources, but the two sisters still decided to go inside the facility, according to the report. Before the young women came out again, the police arrived and told the pro-lifers that they had to leave.
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The pro-life group continued:
Around 11 a.m., the police gathered some of the counselors and told them that they had been “mistakenly informed” by previous police officers that they could be here and exercise their right of free speech. This “mistake” has been going on in front of numerous police officers every Saturday for at least 5 years, and when asked what changed, the lieutenant told the counselors that one of their internal units and the district attorney said we had no right to be here, and we would be arrested if we did not leave after the property manager told us to leave. The order to leave included the yellow-shirts [abortion clinic escorts].
The pro-life counselors began preparing to leave, but as they did, they saw the two sisters walk out of the facility. When they approached the young women again, they learned that the 23-year-old had been told she was “too far along” for an abortion; she had instructions to schedule a second-trimester abortion for a later date. Before they were forced to leave, the pro-life counselors persuaded the pregnant young woman to make an appointment at the local pregnancy resource center for a free ultrasound, according to the pro-life group.
The group is asking for prayer for the young woman and her baby. The sidewalk counselors hope that their perseverance and the information they provided will help the young woman make the best decision for herself and her child.
The fall 40 Days for Life campaigned kicked off on Sept. 28 with pro-life groups in all 50 states and 23 nations. On Monday, Campaign Director Shawn Carney reported 39 babies were saved from abortion so far this fall.
