“I’m so glad you were there to stop me!”
Olivia* had driven an hour and a half from another state to keep her appointment at an abortion clinic in Atlanta. This wasn’t the first time she’d been to an abortion clinic with this baby, but she just couldn’t bring herself to go through with it the first time. Today was different though. She felt as if time was running out, and she would have gone back to the original abortion clinic if the laws in her state would have allowed it. Further adding to Olivia’s stress was the fact that she wasn’t sure about how far along she was in the pregnancy, or if she had support from the father of the baby.
With all of this on her mind, Olivia arrived at the abortion clinic with every intention of going through with the procedure this time. When she arrived, she saw a sidewalk advocate standing on the curb as she pulled into the parking lot. The sidewalk advocate pointed across the street to The HOPE Center’s ICU Mobile Unit (which was parked within view) and explained that Olivia could receive a pre-abortion screening at no cost. Olivia decided to cross the street and receive an ultrasound which revealed to her the precious life she was carrying! She gained accurate information about the exact age of her little one. She was all smiles when she left the mobile unit, and some of her parting words were, “I almost made a huge mistake by going into that abortion clinic today. I’m so glad you all were here to stop me, and I can’t help thinking about all the other women in similar situations….but nobody was there to stop them.”
We praise God for the partnership that we have developed with Sidewalk Advocates for Life that allows us to work together to equip pregnant women to choose life. Our ICU Mobile Unit parks across the street from the Atlanta Women’s Center in Buckhead weekly as sidewalk advocates meet women in the parking lot of the clinic. These sidewalk advocates encourage women to “take a pause” by discussing available resources which include a free ultrasound aboard the ICU Mobile Unit. Olivia is just one of many women who have chosen life through this God-ordained partnership.
*client name changed for confidentiality