Please don’t ban pro-life vigils – they saved my baby’s life
by Abby Smith, Catholic Herald:
Nobody supported me in my pregnancy. Then I was thrown a lifeline.
The public image of pro-life vigils seems pretty well-established: religious bigots harassing vulnerable women at abortion clinics, preventing them from getting the services they need.
I would probably agree, if I didn’t have any more to go on. But I do.
The memory is vivid and still painful. I remember the numbness of the journey to the clinic for an initial appointment. My legs felt as if I’d run a marathon – heavy, incapable of properly supporting my weight. There was an odd inability to focus that descended on me that morning: like the sick feeling you get when you’ve been up all night, but with an awful, near-constant rush of deep, deep dread. I can’t describe the feeling of aloneness and abandonment I felt on the train to the clinic: people going about their daily business, glancing at me without sensing that anything was wrong.
Like many women considering abortion, choice was a luxury I didn’t have. The father of the child would not meet me to discuss the pregnancy. He refused to accept any responsibility, saying that he wouldn’t be spending a “single hour” with the child, if born. All those I told encouraged me to go through with it to keep my job. Even my best friend. When I rang a major abortion provider to ask about alternatives, I was told: “We only do abortion”.
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