"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

The Resurrection - For the Born and Unborn

A happy and Blessed Easter to you!

Celebrating the miracle of the Resurrection and the opening of the way to eternal life is always an incredible time to be involved in pro-life work.

Although they had seen Him raise others from the dead, and He had promised that they would do greater things than He had, none of the apostles expected Jesus to rise from the dead Himself.

We too are often doubtful of Christ's ability or willlingness to give life back where it has ended.

I mentioned recently in a blog how many women we have seen lately with incomplete abortions.

One of these, Una, came to us some time ago with her boyfriend asking for an abortion.

"I don't want to do it, if he would support me I would keep the baby" she said.

We hoped that education, encouragement and support could change her boyfriend's mind, but no. He had raised a couple of families already, thank you. And no part of the truth was going to get in the way of getting rid of this one!

Prayer didn't seem to effect the desired for change on him either (although of course we never know what prayer HAS done...).

We became Una's allies, planning the support she would need, and trying to protect her from the negative influence of John. But despite all prayer - and there was much - we suddenly lost contact with Una, just for 48 hours, she turned off her phone and gave in. She took the abortion pill. She soon called us again telling us what she had done and how remorseful she felt, how much it had affected her relationship for the worse.

Then suddenly came another call -a scan showed that she was still pregnant and 2 weeks further along than the abortuary had told her - perhaps this was why the abortion pill failed? - or perhaps it was because they are always tampering with the appointed times for giving the pills, to try and save on their costs, the abortuary had given her the two pills on the same day. An alert went out to our praying members.

We brought Una in with John again. This time we showed him a graphic DVD of what would happen in the abortion, with his permission and at Una's request. He left ranting and raving about the troubles of raising a child. He seemed unmoved. But Una was changed. She left the room to cry while the DVD was finishing and came back determined to keep her baby, boyfriend or no boyfriend.

We took her for another scan. I sat beside her, praying the St Michael prayer, as we often do at scans where the baby's life is in the balance and the doctor who kindly printed her about 14 scan pictures, assured her the baby looked healthy and said "The baby is due on 29th September" - which of course is the Feast of St Michael!

Una still has a long way to go. Her baby's state of health won't be clear for some time, though we have seen healthy babies born after the abortion pill has been taken. And John, though now supporting her, still wants her to give the baby up when it's born - not something she intends to do, so prayers are still needed. But for Una, it feels like a second chance, like a real resurrection and she is both repentant of her past mistakes and hopeful for her and her babies future.

Clare McCullough

Join the Novena Against Abortions At Home

John Smeaton talks today about SPUC's attempt to prevent even further loosening on the law surrounding the administering of the Abortion Pill:
We at SPUC have said that we will seek leave to intervene in a court case on the legality of so-called bedroom abortions. We are responding to a High Court challenge launched by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), one of Britain’s main abortion providers. BPAS is seeking to widen the scope for using the drug misoprostol, used in conjunction with RU486, the abortion drug. BPAS uses the drugs to poison the uterine environment and kill unborn children. Allowing misoprostol to be taken at home will increase the numbers of women delivering their dead child at home.
The abortion pill is a horrible spin on abortion which draws women in because they think "I will just take a tablet and my period will come", conjuring up a rather different picture than surgery - where even the tiniest of babies are torn limb from limb (and yes they do have 4 limbs when surgical abortion begins at 6-7 weeks).

In reality no abortion is that simple of course. The abortion pill has two stages - the first pill starves the baby of progesterone - nourishment for the baby and the continuing pregnancy - so causing the baby to quickly wither and die. Then 1 or 2 days later the returns to the abortuary for a second pill which will cause contractions and the delivery of her dead baby. No wonder one of the manufacturer's described it as an appalling psychological ordeal!
So BPAS - the largest UK abortion provider and hand in glove with the NHS - now wishes to give the first stage pills and send the woman home with the second stage pills to abort alone.
What difference will this make? Many women already lose their baby at home and alone after the first or second stage. Yet there is something new here; women can now be promised that they can come and get their pills and then carry out the whole procedure at home. A great offer for those women who desperately want this over quickly and privately. It's all the more tempting, and sounds all the more trivial if I can just take a couple of tablets at home...Almost like the morning-after-pill.
Yet these women find to their cost that the abortion pill is a false promise. Abortion still kills her blossoming child and it still wounds or sometimes even kills the Mother. Abortion still exacts a deadly psychological toll - perhaps worse when it is done by her own hand. The side effects of the drug range from sickness to prolonged heavy bleeding and - anecdotally at least vomitting, vomitting blood, anaemia, and the standard abortion complications - infection, future ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages. This drug also remains in the woman's system causing concerning symptoms and confusing changes to her health and her menstrual cycle.
And it is becoming more and more common. Many women who fear a surgical abortion being prepared to risk what they imagine is "just a tablet".
There is also a worrying issue over possible weakening of the conscience clause if BPAS's case succeed.
So let us pray and fast for the failure of the BPAS case, that SPUC's intervention will succeed and that the real intentions of all involved will be exposed and that evil will be overthrown.

The following Novena was posted today by Ecumenical Diablogger.
On 28th January (New Rite Feast of St Thomas Aquinas) the BPAS will go to court to seek the right to have the abortion pill taken by women at home. Please therefore say the following prayers each day for the next nine days;
Please join in whatever day you come across this, even if you are starting late:
Tantum ergo Sacramentum
veneremur cernui:
et antiquum documentum
novo cedat ritui:
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui.
Genitori, Genitoque
laus et iubilatio,
salus, honor, virtus quoque
sit et benedictio:
procedenti ab utroque
compar sit laudatio.
Amen.
Sancte Thoma, ora pro nobis

Or in English;
Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail;
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing,
newer rites of grace prevail;
faith for all defects supplying,
where the feeble sense fail.
To the everlasting Father,
and the Son who reigns on high,
with the Holy Ghost proceeding
forth from Each eternally,
be salvation, honor, blessing,
might and endless majesty.
Amen.
St Thomas, pray for us

Prayer for the Conversion of England

O Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother look down in mercy upon England thy Dowry and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee. By thee it was that Jesus our Saviour and our Hope was given unto the world and He has given thee to us that we might hope still more. Plead for us thy children whom thou did receive and accept at the foot of the cross O sorrowful Mother, Intercede for our separated brethren that with us in the one true fold they may be united to the Chief Shepherd the Vicar of Thy Son. Pray for us all dear Mother that by faith, fruitful in good works we may all deserve to see and praise God together with thee in our heavenly home. Amen.

(for the prayers for Wales or Scotland click here )

Clare McCullough