A couple have rejected abortion and chosen life for their child, after speaking with a pro-life advocate outside a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic. Michael Robinson, SPUC Director of Communications said: “Heartwarming stories such as these prove just how vital a pro-life presence outside abortion clinics is. This couple were empowered by pro-life advocates which enabled them to choose life for their child. It is devastating to consider those who are blocked from receiving support due to buffer zones which ban pro-lifers from standing outside abortion clinics and offer support.  This story also exemplifies the power of conversation we as pro-lifers have at our disposal to open people’s hearts and minds to the wonder and beauty of the unborn child”.

The father has explained how he and his wife had arrived at the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Illinois after deciding to abort their unborn child. However, upon arrival the couple had a conversation with pro-life advocates outside the clinic who were offering support to those experiencing a crisis pregnancy.

The father said the conversation with pro-life advocates highlighted just how much pro-lifers care about the unborn and led them to cancel their abortion appointment, and choose life for their unborn child.

We couldn’t go through with that

The father said: “A week ago, we were thinking about coming here and, you know, getting an abortion and everything but… then we saw how many people out here… actually kinda care—and we were right across the street over there—and… me and my wife were just looking and we were just saying, like, ‘Man, a lot of people do care about this.'”

He also described how following the lifesaving conversation, the couple conducted their own research into the development of their unborn child and the facts surrounding an abortion procedure.

He continued: “Then we read that you actually see the baby when you take the [abortion] pill…like I think it’s like two pills in there. And … that would traumatize me. I think that would just literally traumatize me. I just couldn’t go through that and my wife, she can’t go through that.”

“There are children alive today because of pro-life vigils”

SPUC members - and pro-life supporters stand up for unborn children in many ways. One of the great successes in recent years has been the witness given by pro-life groups across the country through peaceful vigil outside abortion clinics. Pro-life vigils allow those entering an abortion clinic the chance to receive the support, information and resources which would help them choose life for their child.

However, in recent years, the pro-life presence outside abortion facilities in the UK have become increasingly under attack from the pro-abortion lobby who seek to silence the pro-life voice by enforcing buffer zones around abortion clinics.

SPUC’s Michael Robinson said: “Every year hundreds of women decide not to have an abortion because they encounter a pro-life counsellor outside an abortion facility. This vital pro-life work usually involves a small number of courageous people who pray quietly and offer a lifeline to vulnerable women.

“The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) - the abortion chain responsible for 65,000 abortions each year in the UK - lobbied for the introduction of "buffer zones" to ban pro-lifers from standing outside their premises. BPAS stands to lose out financially every time a woman is helped to choose life for her baby. On average, each time a woman decides not to proceed with an abortion the clinic in question stands to lose more than £500 in revenue.

“There are children today who owe their very lives to the courage of these volunteers, standing out in all weathers and sometimes facing abuse from members of the public or even from officials. It is vital that women are granted access to all information that they are entitled to and for the pro-life presence outside abortion clinics to be protected.”