Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.” The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
Psalm 12
Yesterday I saw the wicked prowl on every side. I heard the cursing of wicked lips. I saw the exaltation of vileness among the children of men. I felt that the faithful have vanished.
I was at the Richmond Medical Center for Women. This is the abortion facility where Dr. William Fitzhugh operates on Saturdays. I arrived at about 11:30 am. Already seven women had come to the clinic. They had come for abortions. I was there to tell them it wasn't too late to change their minds, and that they could cancel their appointments. I was also there to give them information about post-abortion healing resources if they did go through with the life-ending surgery.
Almost as soon as I stepped out on the sidewalk the pro-choice clinic escort, one of two present that morning, started screeching at me to "get out of the driveway."
To be clear, I was not blocking their driveway in any way. I was just trying to count how many cars were in the parking lot. She started laying into me, and I was not able to respond very well. It was my right to be there, and threats of calling the police made me want to justify myself and demonstrate that she has no idea what she's talking about. Before I could even gather myself and respond appropriately, I was also set upon by a man who was walking by.
"You make me want to throw up on you!" He yelled in my face. "Hi," I said, quite surprised by his sudden appearance, "I'm Sean." I extended my hand, trying to calm him down and start a conversation (while the escort continued to harp on me from the other side).
"I don't want to talk to you!" He shouted, dismissively. "Get out of our town!"
"Get out of the driveway, NOW!" the escort screamed. "Or I'm going to call the police."
"You're really going to be so petty?" I said, genuinely shocked by her shrillness. I was technically standing on the sidewalk that touches their driveway, but I wasn't in the path any car would take to get into the parking lot.
"I will shove my fingers down my throat and throw up on you!" The man said. "That would be assault, please don't do that." I said. I really wanted to say, "I'm feeling nauseous myself, and I will get sympathy sickness and throw up all over this ridiculous driveway."
Finally, the man got tired of shouting, said I make him sick, thanked the clinic escorts, and walked away. I moved on to another area and the escort said, "Thank you." all smugly in a self-congratulatory way.
"I moved because I wanted, not because you told me to!" I wanted to scream. It was not a good start to the day. I was not feeling good, I was already dealing with major emotions, and I had just been shouted at from two sides simultaneously. Instead of shouting this juvenile point, I apologized for calling her petty. Then I read the Psalm of the day. Psalm 12.
My goal in being there was to offer women information about post-abortion healing resources. I know many women who have had abortions and have carried the hurt from it for years. I want to help show these hurting women the way to go for help and healing as soon as possible.
There are great resources for those who have experienced abortions. One of the best is Rachel's Vineyard, which I have had many friends go through. I encourage women to check out these resources by giving them these custom flyers from my friend, Lauren Handy. (I've now printed them on green paper because she told me it's better with color theory.)
Only one person, a friend of the woman having the abortion, took a flyer. I pray that she will receive the message and be encouraged by it.
Seven women had abortions yesterday. It was heart-breaking to see so much death, and to watch each woman walk out from the abortion facility. One woman was holding her stomach in obvious distress as she got picked up.
Dr. Fitzhugh was there from 1:30 to about 4:30. He seemed to be in a rush to leave, and didn't even take time to get out of his work scrubs before getting into his car. I find it a little disturbing to see someone walk out from performing seven invasive surgeries and just casually get in his car without bothering to take off his scrubs. He has been doing this for over forty years here. Perhaps he doesn't get dirty.
The whole day I was yelled at and called horrible names by people driving and walking by. An old woman told me to "leave these people alone," and said, "F* you!" as she walked away.
"Should I leave the unborn people to die alone?" I wondered, "Or should I leave these women to suffer alone?"
A man driving by started calling out that I was, "Not cool" for "harassing" people. The light turned red and he had to stop. So he turned to personal insults and attacked my religion (which he assumed, correctly, was motivating me).
Other women harassed me. No one wanted to talk. Like the man who wanted to throw up, they just wanted to shout. And not one person passing by said anything encouraging or gave a thumbs up.
The clinic escorts were given cold water bottles. The clinic escorts were thanked half a dozen times. It was horrible to watch the support for abortion and the hatred towards me.
I'm sorry that I am spending this time going "woe is me." However, what I am writing is true. This is what it was like the other day. I felt useless. I didn't see anyone saved from abortion. I watched seven women in the worst kind of pain driving away refusing to accept the helpful flyers (except the one). And I got yelled at and called foul names by a dozen different people.
I was alone. I trust that some of the other long-term pro life people were there in the morning, but I wasn't there early enough to see them. So I was alone the whole time. It hurt at one point. I was so overwhelmed with the empathy I was feeling towards these women, the workers, and the neighbors. I was also feeling hurt and upset by the way I was being treated. It hurt because crying with sunscreen on my face hurts my eyes.
This cannot be sustained. I cannot continue to be there on my own.
So I'm calling on everyone else who knows that the unborn are human beings who deserve to be protected. I'm calling on everyone who knows that Jesus' love must be shown. I'm calling on my brothers and sisters in Christ who are his hands and feet. I'm calling on you to join me here in Richmond on Saturdays. I'm calling on you to go to your nearest abortion facility. To pray. To support those who are already there praying. To encourage your brothers and sisters. To show love to your neighbors. I'm calling on you to stand up for life. Tell me if you are willing to answer this call, and I will give you some advice on how to do it.