by Margaret Akers

Abby Johnson was not the first person to quit the abortion industry

Last week, the film Unplanned made its debut in cinemas across the USA. It tells the story of Abby Johnson, former director of Planned Parenthood in Texas. After years of being affected by what she saw in the clinic, she eventually left her job and has become a powerful voice in the pro-life movement - establishing And Then There Were None, an organisation which helps abortion workers leave their jobs.

Abby Johnson is not the only person to leave a life working for the abortion industry. Below are more stories of people who previously facilitated or promoted abortions, who then went on to speak out against the abortion industry.

Dr Aleck Bourne

In 1938, Dr Aleck Bourne, a gynaecologist, performed an abortion on a 14-year-old girl who had been assaulted by British soldiers. He was charged with performing an illegal abortion. He plead not guilty on the premise that the victim’s mental health would have suffered had she carried the pregnancy to term. Dr Bourne was acquitted. Seemingly, the judge condoned the abortion, considering it a life-saving procedure for the young girl. The outcome of this case went on the influence the grounds for abortion in the 1967 Abortion Act.

Dr Bourne was shocked to see how this case was interpreted into the law and the ramifications of it. He regretted his role in introducing legal abortion in the UK. He went on to become a member of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, seeking to again make abortion unthinkable in the United Kingdom.

Read more here:

Dr Bernard Nathanson

Dr Nathanson was a co-founder of NARAL (National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, now National Abortion Rights Action League) in the United States. He was a director of New York City’s Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health, then the largest abortion provider in the world. He estimated he was involved with 75,000 abortions.

In the 1970s, he was struck by the horror of everything the abortion industry had done and became a pro-life activist. He produced the documentary The Silent Scream, which has been instrumental in the history of the pro-life movement.

Maria Georgiou

Ms Georgiou was a staff-member at Marie Stopes in Brixton South London in 2005. She left her job and spoke publicly about how staff were expected to meet quotas for abortions every day; paid bonuses would be given or withheld based on meeting this quota. Staff were given a target of 50 abortions per day. The report stated that Marie Stopes: "concedes that staff do receive performance-related awards and agrees that employees at the South London clinic were told to increase their 'efficiency and capacity' if they wanted to receive the full amount". Ms Georgiou became an important whistle-blower, drawing attention to these unethical practices.

Read more here:

Dr Anthony Levatino

As an abortion provider, Dr Levatino performed over a thousand abortions. After years working in the abortion industry, he left and decided he needed to shine a light on the horrors of abortion. One of the ways he has done so is by speaking candidly about how abortions are performed - highlighting their brutality.

Watch Dr Levatino speaking at the SPUC Youth Conference. 

Sara Geromin

Sara had been heavily involved in protests in Brazil promoting abortion with the radical feminist group, FEMEN. She had an abortion herself, but suffered severe complications and nearly bled to death.

In 2015, she gave birth to a child. This changed everything for her. She was so affected by the experience, that she wrote a book exposing the practices of FEMEN and speaking against abortion. Of her own abortion, she said: "I regret having an abortion and today I'm asking for forgiveness ... I don't want [others] to go through the same thing I did ... [F]eminism should be focusing more on taking care of women instead of putting their lives at risk".

Read more here:

There is another way

The experiences of people who previously dedicated their lives to promoting abortion are an important witness to the pro-life cause. Their courage in the face of significant challenges should inspire us all to fight for the rights of the unborn.

If you have been affected by work in the abortion industry, there is help. You can contact the Abortion Recovery Care and Helpline at 0845 603 8501.