The following MCCL news release was issued on Nov. 3, 2009.
MCCL urges pro-choice community to reconsider reality of abortion
MINNEAPOLIS — Following the dramatic change of heart by Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) called upon members of the state's pro-choice community and abortion providers themselves to take a fresh look at the reality of abortion.
"MCCL applauds Ms. Johnson's honesty and integrity in admitting that abortion is wrong," said MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach. "Once she set aside all of the rhetoric and abstractions, she recognized that abortion unjustly ends the lives of innocent unborn children."
Johnson has worked at the Planned Parenthood facility in Bryan, Texas, for the past eight years. She has been the center’s director for the last two years, but she left last month after viewing an ultrasound of an abortion.
"A flash hit me and I thought, that's it. … I can't do this anymore," Johnson said in an interview yesterday. She now volunteers with a local organization working to educate women about abortion and alternatives.
Such "conversions" to a pro-life viewpoint are not uncommon. In fact, one of the strongest advocates for legalized abortion prior to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy, was Dr. Bernard Nathanson. An abortionist himself and a founder of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), he was director of New York’s largest abortion center. Nathanson ended the lives of 75,000 unborn children before his change of heart. The development of ultrasound technology in the 1970s led him to the conviction that abortion wrongly ends a human life. He has produced two documentary films on abortion: "The Silent Scream" and "Eclipse of Reason."
More than 90 percent of pregnant women considering abortion decide against the procedure once they have viewed an ultrasound of their unborn child. Revealing the mysteries of human life in the womb, ultrasound has become a powerful tool to correct misunderstandings regarding fetal development and the humanity of the unborn child.
"Just as it is crucial that every pregnant woman know that her unborn child is a living human being worthy of protection, it is equally important for citizens and abortionists to reconsider the reality of abortion," Fischbach said. "MCCL strongly urges people to set aside their preconceived ideas and take a fresh look with open eyes and open hearts."
Videos and DVDs are available on the Internet that show actual abortion procedures. MCCL's lending library includes videos and DVDs showing fetal development via ultrasound.
MCCL is Minnesota's oldest and largest pro-life organization. For more information about MCCL, visit www.mccl.org.
