{"id":253717,"date":"2021-09-21T14:43:04","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T19:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=253717"},"modified":"2021-09-20T17:55:34","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T22:55:34","slug":"three-families-say-thank-pro-life-sidewalk-counselors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/three-families-say-thank-pro-life-sidewalk-counselors\/","title":{"rendered":"These three families say ‘thank you’ to pro-life sidewalk counselors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The work of pro-life sidewalk counselors cannot be overstated. Their presence outside of abortion facilities, their prayers, and their hands-on approach to encountering abortion-minded mothers and putting them in touch with alternatives have changed many minds over the years and saved the lives of babies all over the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here are just three stories that demonstrate how sidewalk counselors have made a difference in the lives of families.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kiesy and Jocelyn\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A couple\u2019s encounter with sidewalk counselors outside the Lovejoy Surgical Center in Portland, Oregon, saved the life of baby Sebastian. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kiesy and Jocelyn Hernandez had driven over 400 miles to have an abortion. On their way into the facility, they met the counselors who had been standing outside and praying. The couple told the counselors they were scared, but that they ultimately wanted to keep their baby. Still, Jocelyn felt too young to raise a child and feared Kiesy could not provide for him. The counselors listened to her concerns. They helped her feel stronger, she said, while local pro-lifers helped the couple with the baby’s physical needs. Later that year, the couple wed, and their baby, Sebastian, was born.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people gave so much, and it was just beautiful to see,\u201d Therese Ruesink, one of the counselors, said to the <\/span>Catholic Sentinel<\/span><\/a>. \u201cKiesy and Jocelyn have not stopped thanking all of us for all these months since Sebastian was born.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Theresa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Theresa<\/span><\/a> was homeless and out of work in the UK when she discovered that she was pregnant. She felt her circumstances meant she had no choices other than to abort her baby, something she desperately did not want, and she wept as she approached the Marie Stopes abortion business. Someone outside the facility asked why she was crying. The counselor talked with Theresa and reassured her that she did not need to have an abortion, telling her that support and alternatives were available. When no one inside the abortion facility showed the same concern for her anxieties, Theresa returned to the sidewalk counselor who put her in touch with the <\/span>Good Counsel Network<\/span><\/a>, an organization dedicated to helping women facing unplanned pregnancies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At Good Counsel, Theresa\u2019s concerns were heard. The organization offered her accommodations and helped with her pressing needs. \u201cThey said they were going to help and just talked with me. They asked me why I wanted to abort the baby and I told them about my conditions; that I didn\u2019t have a house, I didn\u2019t have work, that I couldn\u2019t cope. They offered me accommodation, and they were really supportive. They started giving me food vouchers and money for the baby. Almost all the baby\u2019s clothes and what I\u2019m using for my baby they gave it to me. I don\u2019t know where I would be if they weren\u2019t there,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Noe<\/strong><\/p>\n

A couple seeking an abortion outside of Aurora, Illinois, was surprised by the number of people praying outside the local Planned Parenthood. The husband explained to <\/span>Pro Life Action League<\/span><\/a> that he and his wife had been considering an abortion, but the presence of sidewalk counselors and others outside the facility made them pause and consider what they were doing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n