PROSPECT HEIGHTS — As New York City braced Friday for a “Night of Rage” over the U.S. Supreme Court repealing of the federal right to abortion, a pro-life activist urged prayer for women “wounded by abortion.”
Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director, resigned after watching an abortion performed on ultrasound.
Her 2014 book, “Unplanned,” was made into a movie five years after with the same title. Both depict her switch to the pro-life movement. The Texas-based activist now operates two ministries for people affected by abortion.
Currents News Anchor Christine Persichette interviewed Johnson Friday, June 24, just hours after the high court ruled 6-3 to overturn Roe v. Wade which had made abortion a constitutional right.
“A lot of these people who are with these violent groups like Jane’s Revenge resent us,” Johnson said. “A lot of these women are simply women who are hurting because of past abortions.
“And we need to be praying for these women.”
Johnson said she believes most abortion advocates do not understand what the procedure does to preborn child, or “how it truly affects mothers, families and fathers who have experienced abortion.”
Johnson urged prayer, even though “these are not women who are going to respond to friendly dialogue, necessarily.”
“This is truly a spiritual battle,” she added, “and we need to be arming ourselves with sacraments and with prayer.”
While the repealing of Roe removes the federal right to abortion, state legislatures still have the right to decide whether to allow abortions.
“We’ve gone from having this one big federal battle, to now having 50 individual state battles,” Johnson said. “We have 26 states, including mine, Texas, where abortion is going to be illegal. But there’s going to be states like New York, California, Colorado, and New Jersey, that have essentially codified Roe.
“So in a sense, our work has gotten more difficult. And that’s okay; we’re up for the task.”
Johnson’s ministries are “And Then There Were None (ATTWN),” which helps people working at abortion clinics leave the industry, and ProLove Ministries, a clearinghouse for women seeking help during unplanned pregnancies.
“There’s going to be many women who are going to be coming now from these red states to states like New York,” Johnson predicted. “We really need to be offering our support for these resources that are supporting women in crisis.”
Alecia Jones agreed. She is a nurse and the chief executive director of New Beginnings Center of Hope, a Christian-based facility in Jamaica, Queens that assists pregnant women and new mothers.
Jones told The Tablet Friday evening that she was happy “abortion on demand” was ending in the U.S., but she still did not feel like celebrating.
“I feel heavy,” she said. “I’m sad because I just feel the pain of some women who feel like their lives are over. They’re going to be fleeing states and coming here and then we’re going to offer them …. what? We’re not offering them real choice here.”
Jones said that while abortion clinics will continue in New York, life-affirming pregnancy resources centers are underfunded.
The nation should do more to support women with unplanned pregnancies, she said.
“When I say support,” Jones said, “I’m talking about legislation that will give women equal pay for the work that they do, daycare subsidies, and a realistic maternity leave.
“If America was a country of choice, real choice, then the pregnancy resource centers would be funded and well-staffed with medical and counseling professionals — just like the abortion clinics. The only difference between the two of us is we offer Christ-centered support.
“We should be able to open the doors of both and let the women choose between which one they want to go to.
“That’s real choice. But we don’t have that.”