A pro-life article told the following story:
“Some former abortion clinic workers have been won over to the pro-life side because of the love they experienced from people who demonstrated against their clinics. Norma McCorvey, former lead plaintiff as Jane Roe of Roe V Wade, is one. The case of another, Judith Fetrow, is striking because she initially experienced hostility from pro-life demonstrators at the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic where she worked. On one occasion, she was so upset by her work that she decided to leave the clinic. But on her way out, demonstrators started shouting at her, “Murderer! The blood is on your hands!” Fetrow felt as though “someone had kicked me in the stomach,” so she went back to the clinic and “back to work.”
But a sidewalk counselor named Steve reached out to her, chatting with her in a friendly way. “It took some time,” Fetrow recalled, “it took enormous dedication, and it took the patience of a saint. But over several weeks we developed a friendship across the lines, based on trust.” Fetrow again left the clinic, but this time she did not return.”
Story recounted in Mary Meehan spring/summer 2000 The Ex-Abortionists: Why They Quit. Human Life Review 26 (2/3), 7 – 28, 8 and 21 in Rachel M MacNair and Stephen Zunes. Consistently Opposing Killing: from Abortion to Assisted Suicide, the Death Penalty, and War (Bloomington: Author’s Choice press, 2011) 135
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Yes, I agree, pro-lifers need to demonstrate empathy and compassion. When a woman is faced with a crisis pregnancy, speaking from experience, she goes to a very black place mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Often, there are very few people she can even tell. What she needs is someone to give a hand, an ear, and a heart of understanding, empathy and compassion. Christians can not expect ungodly people to act righteously and to care about the same things they care about as they have not established the Bible as an absolute truth or absolute authority on this subject. Once a friendship is developed is when true ministry can occur. For whatever it is worth, even with a lot of pressure, I chose life. I look every day into my beautiful daughter’s eyes and I think how close she came to being aborted. She has red, curly hair and beautiful blue eyes. I have 6 other children that are blondes. She is 25% black, and threw all white genes. I live in a small community, and it could have been a huge scandal. My marriage also survived. In the early days of my crisis, what helped me the most were those that were compassionate and tender and empathetic. Empathy seems to be missing in today’s culture.