A Life Saved
By Kathy St.Hilaire
Thu, 7 Feb 2008 

I shivered in the cold wind as I stood with my sign in front of Planned Parenthood.  It was my first shift in the 24-hour vigil, as part of the 40 Days For Life campaign, and I was alone for the first time.
 
I prayed silently as the traffic came and went.  Then two young women approached me.  I think they had been at the Grocery Outlet across the street and saw me there.  They were curious about why I was there and I told them that we were praying for an end to abortion because it was the killing of the unborn child.
 
Then one of the women told me that she was four months pregnant and was considering abortion since her husband was abusive and she already had a two-year-old.  Her friend thought abortion might be okay, especially in the beginning when there's hardly anything there.  I told them that the baby was there from the beginning even though so tiny.  I also shared that abortion wasn't good for the mother, either, and I encouraged the pregnant one to seek help at the Whatcom County Pregnancy Clinic.  She replied that she'd already been there and that's where her pregnancy was confirmed.
 
She was curious about how big her baby would be now.  Since I had left my bag of brochures and handouts in my car, due to the rain, I invited the women to follow me to the car and there I gave the pregnant mom one of my little "Precious One" babies (a rubber-like model of a 12-week pre-born baby) to hold and keep, along with the little card that tells the week-by-week developments.  She was surprised at how tiny and yet how well developed it was, and she said, "My baby would be a little bigger at four months." 
 
Her friend chimed in that she still thought an early abortion would be okay since "it" was so small.  So I gave the friend the "First Nine Months" brochure so that she could see for herself how fast the baby develops even though so small.  And I gave her the "Precious Feet" pin that depicts the exact size and shape of a 10-week unborn baby's feet. 
 
I encouraged the pregnant mom to return to the Pregnancy Clinic for an ultra-sound and maybe to join the Earn While You Learn program, where she could receive parenting help and earn all her baby's material needs.
 
Both women seemed pleased and they thanked me.  As they walked away the pregnant mom said, "You saved a life today." 
 
"Wow," I thought, "what a gift from God."  I whispered, "Thank you, Lord," as I walked back in a daze to my place at the corner, picked up my sign, and resumed my prayers. 
 
Gradually the immensity of this precious gift of one life saved has begun to sink in as I have shared the story.  As Richard Myers pointed out to me, this was a personal gift from God to me after years of pro-life work and it is also a great gift of encouragement for all of us in the 40 Days For Life campaign, especially for my son, Andrew, the local organizer who has worked so hard to make the program a success here.