Report from America - Day 35

Today's devotional deals with post-abortion healing.
With that in mind, here's a story from Mike Stack
from the 40 Days for Life in Southfield, Michigan
that shows the importance of our outreach to those
who are hurting following an abortion experience...

***FROM MIKE STACK, 40 DAYS FOR LIFE SOUTHFIELD***

I'm still a bit awestruck and emotional at what I
encountered at the vigil site today.

We had invited several post-abortive women and men to
stand with the "I Regret my Abortion" and "I Regret
Lost Fatherhood" signs from the Silent No More
campaign. Several of them shared their testimony of
hurt and healing. I am still trying to process the
intense emotions I have from this experience.

Here we have women and men deliberately ripping off
their band aids and exposing their pain for the sake
of those entering the abortion facility and those who
work there. I have never seen a greater act of love.

Their self sacrifice is changing hearts and saving
their sisters and brothers from making the same
mistake they made so many years ago. My heart breaks
not only from the sorrow of listening to their pain
but from the joy of seeing the healing that they have
experienced through God's Mercy.

One of the most remarkable stories we heard this
morning was shared by a woman that providence brought
to us today.

She is well acquainted with the abortion facility
where the 40 Days for Life vigil is taking place. She
had an abortion there several months ago.

She told us how she was ambivalent about her abortion
decision and had gone back and forth between the
abortion facility and the crisis pregnancy center
just down the road.

At that time she had been given a diagnosis of HIV
and the abortion facility convinced her that her only
option was to abort to avoid passing the deadly virus
to her baby. Even though her husband objected, she
initially consented to the abortion.

She was well into her second trimester and would need
the two-day procedure for her abortion. She wanted
time to think but the staff insisted she stay for the
abortion and tricked her into doing the entire
procedure in one day.

Meanwhile her husband was doing every thing he could
to talk to her and get her out of the abortion
facility but the staff locked him out and forced her
to turn off her cell phone so he couldn't communicate
with her.

With the abortion completed she left and was later
rechecked for HIV. It was found that there had been
some mistake at the lab and she had been given a
false positive report for HIV.

Today God has given her a healthy pregnancy -- twins!
-- a renewed marriage commitment and some good
lawyers to bring prosecution against the abortionist
and his staff. She freely admits that these are all
good things but nothing will bring back the child she
has lost to abortion.

We pray in thanksgiving for the courage these women
and men have demonstrated in exposing their hurt and
healing and we pray for blessings on all those that
hear their courageous words.