Sidewalk counselors from Catholics United for Life save lives
An article appeared in The Fresno Bee about Catholics United for life, and pro-life sidewalk counselors, that describes some of the women that were helped.
9-10 wkd
“Martha, twenty-one, an unmarried mother of four children (ages five, two, one, and three months). She met the sidewalk counselors as they she [sic] entered a clinic, on her way to abort her fourth baby. Unemployed and on welfare, Martha said she didn’t think she could “handle” another child.
But, she explained, “Molly [a sidewalk counselor] came up and she told me if God didn’t think I could handle another, He wouldn’t give it to me.”
Martha decided against an abortion, but she needed help. She and her children were sleeping on the floor of her sister’s house. She said Catholics United for life gave her family a place to live. It paid the first months’ rent, in addition to purchasing furniture and food.”
And another woman:
14-week-old baby,
“Mary, twenty-four, unmarried, living in California with her brother, had a well-to-do family back home in Latin America. Her brother suggested an abortion because an illegitimate child born to another member of the family had caused major problems.
At the abortion clinic, the sidewalk counselors assured Mary that they would help her with medical care and living expenses if she went through with her pregnancy. Mary and her brother, who had accompanied her to the clinic, both agreed for her to continue with the pregnancy.
Mary said she was relieved. “When I left the house, I didn’t really want to do it. I asked God if I’m not supposed to do it, show me – and that’s when I met these guys [the sidewalk counselors.]”
A third woman. These were all at the same clinic
“Deborah, twenty-seven, married, mother of four children (ages six, four, one, and two weeks) Deborah said her husband didn’t always provide money for the family to live on, necessitating her to work in the fields. The news that a fourth baby was on the way posed a major problem. “When you’re pregnant, they won’t give you a job anymore,” she explained.
Foot of an aborted baby at 9 weeks.
At the abortion clinic, Deborah said the counselors from Catholics United for life, showed her pictures of aborted fetuses….“I was of the belief that a baby is unformed until three months, that before that it was a little ball. But they explained that it was formed from the beginning.”
Catholics United for life gave Deborah financial help.
“Pro-Life Counselors, Pound the Pavement to Dissuade Abortion” The Fresno Bee, Sunday, January 23, 1983
Sidewalk counselors save lives every day. These babies are now in their late teens or twenties. Some may even have children of their own. The good pro-lifers do lasts generations.
