Yesterday, while on the sidewalk in front of American Family Planning, a text message arrived on Alicia’s cell phone: “I got married Wednesday. LOL Yo way….” Or something like that. The message was from an Arabic woman who had come to the abortuary a couple of weekends ago. Alicia had a long conversation with her and her driver, then eventually jumped into their truck and off they went to Ypsilanti, where a Catholic physician took her in immediately for an ultrasound. The situation was on we frequently encounter at the abortuary–an unmarried woman, pregnant, fleeing from the wrath of a strict parent. The odd thing, though, is that this woman–Samantha, we’ll call her– told Alicia that her mother knows Samantha is sexually active, yet doesn’t get too bothered about that. Pregnancy itself, apparently, is the great evil to be avoided. Another great modern failure to add one plus one.
Last weekend AFP was closed, so we all shuttled over to Summit. As a reminder, Summit is the abortuary that doesn’t have its own parking lot, yet still carries on a very high volume of business. The result is, many occasions to talk to peeople. And so we did. Kristine managed to bring about a 180 degree turn in one woman’s attitude, who began the conversation hostile and sarcastic, yet concluded by thanking Kristine for being there.
This weekend, two couples turned away from the abortuary. One young man had been admonished by Mike to “do the right thing.” He and his girlfriend were out in just a few minutes; as he walked towards his car he smiled at Mike and said, “We decided to do the right thing.”
Alicia, meanwhile, was involved in a tough exchange with a Hispanic father and daughter. They did eventually leave the abortuary, but the father remained firm in his commitment to kill the child. “I will kmake sure she doesn’t become pregnant again,” he said, “but this baby must die.” He will act with complete disregard for the dignity of her sexuality and the dignity of her child; yet she will never seek affirmation or consolation through a boyfriend. Once again, one and one aren’t being added up.
Those are just a few spots from our work at the abortuaries. Meanwhile, in the course of the weeks, Guadalupe Partners are making trips to the city, are continuing to deliver diapers and grroceries, are helping mothers with utility bills and rent, are playing with their children, are listening to them. As the text message to Alicia concluded, “You’re one of my new friends.”
