Les FemmesFROM THE PRESIDENT'S KITCHEN TABLE

 

Dear Readers,
A new year is a good time to reflect on the old and the new so my topic this issue is cars. We bought a new van last year to replace my old 1990 station wagon. With 205,000 miles, the wagon just wasn't reliable even with a rebuilt engine. But I have a special affection for that car which I placed under the protection of St. Joseph since I spent so much time praying there.

It got a real workout running carpools, errands, and traveling to Wheeling, WV for family visits especially when my mother-in-law was dying. For six years it kept us safe during our monthly trips to UVA to remind our first two college kids where they came from while they tested their wings in pagan territory. Due to my bumper stickers it suffered coffee and raw egg attacks and three shattered back windows, the last in 1999 the day of the March for Life. But even in retirement, it continues to serve.

Last month I ordered several ClinicWorker.com kits from Life Dynamics, the boldest and most effective national pro-life group in the country in my humble opinion. The poster reads, "Clinic workers protect yourselves. Report sexual harrassment, income tax evasion, medicaid fraud, insurance fraud" and lists the website. I cut the poster in half and mounted it on stiff board to make a sun visor for my windshield. Now when I work at the pregnancy center I leave the new van at home and drive my old wagon. I park in front of the abortion mill next door and post the sign in the window.

The first week, within 45 minutes there were two police officers and three clinic workers circling the car. Then they adjourned to the mill to consult. Soon an officer, having checked the registration, was in our waiting room asking for me by name. They also called my home to ask why my car was parked in front of the "woman's clinic." The officer requested I come outside. Our conversation went something like this:

Officer: I'd like to search your car.

Me: You have no right to. I don't like to encourage you to overstep your bounds. You have to have probable cause .

Off: The probable cause is the fertilizer in the back. It could be a bomb. [Yes, he really said it!]

Me: That's ridiculous! A tree in our yard was struck by lightening and we're trying to save it. But I have nothing to hide and I'll let you look, even though I know you have no right to do so. [I went in to get my keys, returned, and opened the back. The officer picked up the bag of fertilizer and looked under it.]

Off: I can see there are no wires and it isn't a bomb. The clinic finds your sign offensive and would like you to move your car.

Me: These spaces aren't reserved. The abortionist parks his car [a Lincoln] in front of our office. And what's really offensive is the sound of their suction machines ripping up little babies. We listen to that all day. No, I won't move the car. If they don't like it they can get here early and fill the spaces.

Then I described two of their recent victims who ended up in our office. The abortionist perforated one woman's uterus necessitating a total hysterectomy and transfusions to replace 90% of her blood. She's 22 years old. The other had massive infection from baby parts left inside to rot. She returned to the mill complaining she still felt pregnant and wanted a sonogram. They refused until she forked out another 50 bucks. During the test the nurse's eyes "got real big." She told her not to go to the emergency room, but come back later to see the "doctor." Fortunately the woman did go to the ER where they prescribed antibiotics to control the massive infection before they could do anything else.

While I spoke to the first officer the second came out of the mill. He said he had no opinion about abortion and was just doing his job. I replied that wouldn't get him a pass on judgment day. Police in Nazi Germany used that excuse to defend putting Jews on the cattle cars. I told them my brother is a policeman in Baltimore so I have a particular appreciation for them. They've been put in the middle and need conscience-clause legislation to protect their rights. The conversation ended amicably. The officers were always polite. Later I bought a locked gas cap for my car and refilled the front tire that was almost flat.

I really enjoy my new van, but my old wagon is a wounded vet from the abortion wars and I love that car! To get your own ClinicWorker.com kit, go to Life Dynamics' website at www.ldi.org or call 1 (800) 800-LIFE. Then take the sign to an abortion mill and prick consciences.

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