March 10 has been designated "National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers" by the abortion lobby. NAF is plugging it on their main web site, so evidently at least some folks are planning to observe it this year, though it seems to be petering out over the years and becoming more of a day for prolifers to remember abortionists than for prochoicers to "appreciate" them. I can find very little online that's current, but I'm without a computer at home for the nonce so I don't get a lot of chance to look. Cue me in, folks!
The National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers is mainly intended to overcome the powerful negatives of working in abortion. Dr. Rachel McNair has explored the stresses of abortion work in her
Achieving Peace in the Abortion War. I'll not repeat Dr. McNair's findings here. I heartily recommend that each and every person who is called to stand for life read this book online, prayerfully, with a heart open to ideas of how we can reach the folks who've fallen for the lie that abortion helps women.
Keep in mind that we're not dealing with evil people who enjoy killing babies. Yes, there's greed. Yes, there's egotism. But a common underlying motivation is the idea that somehow what they're doing is helping the patients. The typical abortion worker views himself as bravely overcoming his natural revulsion at destroying fetal life in order to better the lives of women.
So what we need to do is break through that illusion. With that in mind, let's look at Refuse and Resist's suggestions, and see where we can get ideas to reach these lost souls and help them break free.
Some suggestions on outreach approaches that you still have time for, even at this late time:
Join others in prayer for abortion workers.
Bring your local staff gift baskets that include information on the Society of Centurions, or Clinic Worker.com. Make the gifts real gifts, like notecards, fruit, bath salts, and so forth, not phony "gifts" intended to crush the worker's spirit, like bloody dismembered baby dolls, baby clothes, etc. You might even consider giving them a book such as Won by Love or Blood Money, written by former abortion workers, with a note saying that the book was written by somebody had worked inside and knows what it's like.
Be a presence outside abortion facilities, reminding staff, patients, and the public of women who've been harmed there.
Invite your local abortion staff to coffee, to let him or her vent in a safe environment without fear of being labeled a traitor.
Write to your local newspaper, and call talk shows, to educate people about the harm abortion does to women.
Use your imagination to create a climate in which abortion staff know that it's safe for them to approach you should they ever need your help.
Keep your eyes open for events being planned to keep abortionists in thrall. Think of ways to counter these efforts. Let's be a soft place for these wounded souls to land.
As I've said before, I think this project is a great idea. But there might be a problem:
ReplyDelete1)Getting the gift basket past security and to the actual clinic workers. As you know, abortion clinic workers and their security are very jittery these days in part due to extremists anti-abortionist (I refuse to call them "pro-life") and an overperception that all pro-lifers are out to get them. I'd think that brochures from the Society of Centurions, or Clinic Worker.com would raise their alarms and the gift basket would be taken apart and inspected and/or such information would be removed before it even made it to the workers. How can we ensure that it's seen for what it is, a gift, and not a suspcious package? Any ideas?
Good points, Rachael. But a gift basket from a reputable gift basket service might not be dismembered. The person passing it back would take it to be a prochoice gift (after all, who sends Candygrams to abortionists?), but would likely not read the card. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteSure, that makes sense, after all they're hoping for gifts and reassurance that what they're doing is "good" and beneficial to women.
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