“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.”
Proverbs 24:11 is often quoted in a pro-life context, but practically, how can it be lived out at the eleventh hour? How do we rescue and hold back pre-born children who are nestled in the wombs of their mothers who are walking into abortion clinics?
Last weekend my questions were answered with clarity when I travelled to St. Louis, Missouri, to speak at the Nexus 2016 conference. I had the joy of presenting alongside, and spending time with, lawyer Lauren Muzyka of Sidewalk Advocates for Life. I was extremely impressed with the life-saving work she and her team does “in the trenches.” Her ministry is described as follows:
“Sidewalk Advocacy refers to crisis intervention in front of the abortion center. It involves actively encouraging a woman to choose life, empowering her to leave the abortion center, and ministering to all present to bring about a conversion of heart from a culture of death to a culture of life, thereby ending abortion.”
Does it work? Already Lauren’s ministry has saved over 1,000 babies and seen more than 25 abortion workers leave their deadly jobs. The compassionate, well thought out strategy that she and her team employs comes not only from rigorous study, but from hands-on experience: Lauren herself has been a sidewalk counselor for 15 years.
Much more could be said about Sidewalk Advocates for Life, but I think it is best said by this touching and powerful 6-minute video of a baby saved from abortion by their work: