"Please Keep Going"

One of the Pro-Life vigil volunteers gave the following  testimony, at the recent 40 Days for Life launch event in Brixton. Please read it, share it and then decide if you should come to the vigil as well.

First of all, I want to say thank you. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for standing faithfully, often quietly, and sometimes in very difficult circumstances. Many of you will never fully see the impact of what you do—but I am here today as living proof that your presence matters more than you may ever know.

 

Who I Am & Where I Came From

I grew up in a practising Catholic home. At 21, I immigrated alone to Spain. At 22, I married in the Church.

I was young, far from my family, in a new country, trying to build a life and a marriage with faith and hope.

 

Pregnancy & Sudden Crisis

When I found out I was pregnant, I was about eight weeks along. Despite everything else that was going on, I was filled with joy. There was joy in my heart because I loved my baby. At the same time, my marriage had become unsafe. The man I had married—someone I loved—had bipolar disorder, he stopped taking his medication, and our home became unbearable and frightening. What should have been a time of protection and care became a time of fear. I felt shocked, confused, alone—and deeply ashamed to reach out to my family.

 

Turning to the System for Help 

Eventually, I reached out to social services and a local women’s organisation. I remember feeling relieved. I truly believed these people would help me and my baby. Around the same time, I went alone to my first routine pregnancy check-up. I was filled with fear and uncertainty.

As I sat there, I noticed pamphlets everywhere—about gestational diabetes, pregnancy complications, and abortion. I remember thinking, “Oh no… I am alone in this. How would I ever get through this?” And yet—even in all that fear—abortion never crossed my mind.

 

Abortion as the Default Response

During the appointment, I shared my situation with the doctor. She handed me pamphlets I had already seen. Among them was one for social services, and I thought, “Good. They will help me with my baby.”

What happened next shocked me. When I went to social services and explained the domestic violence I was experiencing, every professional involved in my case was quick to offer abortion. I kept hearing the same sentence, again and again: “You know you have a choice. You are only 8… 10… 12 weeks.” Not one person asked me what I wanted. Not one person asked if I wanted to keep my baby. Not one explored what support might make that possible.

Erosion of Confidence & Hope

After hearing this repeatedly, I began to doubt myself. My confidence disappeared. The little hope I had left began to fade. For the first time, the thought of abortion—something completely against my values—started to feel like a possibility. Not because I wanted it, but because of the fear I was being fed. Abortion no longer felt like an option. It felt like the only way forward.

I felt ashamed. I lost my sense of who I was. I felt like a puppet—being referred from one place to another, always with the same offer: abortion first, and support later.

 

Second Medical Visit & ‘Easy Pills’

To clarify, in Spain women are often referred to specialised abortion clinics later in the first trimester. So my second check-up was still at a regular GP, this is often where the abortion pills are offered. I was told, “It’s simple. Just pills.” I didn’t accept. I said I needed time to decide. Inside, I felt shattered. Conflicted. Weak. Helpless.

 

Encounter with Pro‑Life Presence: The Turning Point

As I walked out of the GP, I saw a small group of men and women outside. One was praying the rosary. They were handing out leaflets quietly. As I passed them, one handed me a leaflet. It showed a mother and her baby and said, “We are here to help.” At first, I thought it was another abortion leaflet. But on the bus, I read it carefully.
It said: ADEVIDA – “We are here to listen. We can help. No to abortion.” My heart skipped a beat. It was a light in the darkest days of my life.

 

Support, Restoration & Community

I got off the bus, crossed the road, and caught the bus back—hoping they would still be there. They were. I spoke to them. The next morning, I went to their centre. ADEVIDA is an organisation like the Good Counsel Network. They offered practical support, counselling, and a community of other mothers. For the first time, I felt listened to. Seen. Supported as both a woman and a mother.

Their presence outside that abortion centre was the voice I had been longing to hear. The voice that restored my strength. The voice that restored my hope.

 

Why Your Work Matters

This is why what you do matters. You offer presence where there is pressure. Support where there is silence. Hope where fear has taken over. Please know that your quiet faithfulness reaches further than you will ever see.

 

Encouragement & Commissioning

Thank you for believing that women are strong.
Thank you for believing that babies matter.
Thank you for being the voice that says, “You can do this—and you don’t have to do it alone.”

Please keep going.

The 40 Days for Life vigil in Brixton will run for 12 hours a day, 8am until 8pm, seven days a week from Ash Wednesday until Palm Sunday 29^th March. If you could spare an hour or more to come and pray with us, it would be of great help. The vigil takes place at the corner of Brixton Hill and Brixton Water Lane, London, SW2 5BJ. For more details or to book please call Gabriella on 07745711064 or 02077231740