Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey Across the Life Line by Abby Johnson, Cindy Lambert Read Free Book Online

having abortions?” I asked her. “Planned Parenthood offers all kinds of services, right? Pap smears and pregnancy testing and ultrasounds, right?”
    “Yeah, but not on abortion days. On Tuesdays we mostly do just abortions, and they know that. Okay,” she said as another car pulled into the lot. “Your turn this time. I’ll walk with you, but you do the talking. Are you ready?”
    I was there the moment the new client opened her car door.
    “Hi. I’m glad you found us okay. I’ll walk you to the door.”
    “We know this is a hard day for you,” another voice chirped during my brief pause. “We are out here because we care about you.” My immediate thought was that if they cared about this woman, they wouldn’t look so frightening with a Grim Reaper and a huge photo of an aborted fetus on display. That certainly didn’t look caring to me. My client turned her head to see who had spoken through the fence. My eyes followed hers for a second and landed on a young woman about my age.
    “Sorry about these people,” I spoke up, drawing her attention back to me. “Let’s get inside.”
    Just then someone at the fence shouted, “Abortionists are murderers! Repent!”
    “Starting to warm up, isn’t it? I love the color of your shirt.” I was groping for words but could hear how ridiculous I sounded in light of the accusation we’d just heard. Another voice was talking over me, now calling louder, as the client and I were heading toward the building.
    “We have alternatives for you if you don’t want to go through with this today,” a man’s voice called. The client’s eyes locked on mine, and I saw anxiety there.
    “And here we are. Let me get the door for you,” I offered in as soothing a voice as I could, now feeling I needed to protect her. I walked her to the receptionist. “Here we go. She’ll help you now.”
    “Thank you,” the girl answered timidly, her eyes on the floor. She looked frightened.
    I gently patted her arm, then left her with the receptionist and went back outside, feeling a bit rattled.
    The trainer said I’d done a great job talking to the patient while keeping her moving. “We need to do all we can to protect our clients from those pro-lifers,” she added. “See that guy over there?” She pointed to a man on the other side of the fence who looked about ten years older than me.
    “Yeah. Who is he?”
    “That’s David Bereit. He’s the director of Coalition for Life. Their office is just down the street.” She went on to explain that the group’s purpose was to turn the community against us and shut us down.
    I looked through the fence at the pro-lifers assembled there. Some college-age kids, guys and girls, stood praying together with heads bowed; two young moms with strollers simply stood and looked on; a middle-aged couple walked the fence, speaking to another client being escorted toward the clinic door. The costumed Grim Reaper just lurked, occasionally waving his scythe in the air. A gray-haired man had shown up and was strolling back and forth carrying a big handmade sign crudely lettered “MURDERERS” in red paint. The woman with the aborted fetus picture was marching back and forth, raising and lowering it like she was on parade. A young couple stood holding a simple sign that read “CHOOSE LIFE.”
    This is unbelievable, I thought. What have I stepped into? It was like a face-off through the fence. A war zone. The tension in the air was palpable.
    Another volunteer took the next car, and I just watched. Clients had two parking options when they pulled in. They could turn left to park facing the fence like I originally had, or right to park facing the building. This client parked facing the fence. A friendly looking young woman outside the fence, about my age, stepped forward, pressed herself against the fence, and spoke softly to the client the second she opened her car door. From my spot by the front door I couldn’t hear what she said, but the client