London Abortion Centre Closes After Nearly 11 Years of Daily Prayer Vigils

Marie Stopes Flagship, central London abortion centre closed down yesterday, Friday 28^th May. The 5 storey building in the heart of London’s Fitzrovia, named Marie Stopes House closed it’s doors on abortion just after noon, and sent its - now redundant - staff home with doughnuts and flowers.

Regular pro-life vigils began at this site in 2010. The first '40 Days for Life' Campaign in the UK began at Marie Stopes, Whitfield Street. The Good Counsel Network (GCN) had been working with Robert Colquhoun to get this off the ground. We had suggested this particular location to 40 Days because it was the Marie Stopes ‘flagship’ building. The building is the 'first descendant' of her first 'Birth Control Centre' in Holloway, London, which moved to Whitfield Street in 1925.

We also suggested Whitfield Street as the site for the first UK 40 Days Campaign because unlike the other abortion centres in London (there were 7 major abortion centres back then as opposed to a few dozen small ones now) this one had never had a regular pro-life vigil.

There was a large Helpers of God’s Precious Infants/Youth 2000 Vigil at the site on 28 December 2000 and over the years a few caring souls stopped there to pray a Rosary for mums of babies when they could.  The aim now was to establish a regular presence offering women alternatives to abortion.

The 40 Days Vigil, managed spectacularly by the wonderful Poppy, whose job it was to fill the schedule, went extremely well.  Several women changed their minds and kept their babies.

At the end of the 40 Days Campaign, GCN decided that in order to serve other women in need, we needed to have a presence there every day if possible and the daily vigil was born. This meant we would be there all year round offering women help and support.

The next Whitfield Street '40 Days' was a 24 hour vigil. One of GCN’s volunteers, Annabel, was working 25 hours a day to fill the schedule, and managed to against tremendous odds. We wrote here about this 40 Days Campaign and its stories, which involved reciting the Litany for Life at 7am surrounded by medical students from the building opposite the Marie Stopes Centre (Student Halls of Residence) who were sent out into the cold in their pyjamas by the fire alarm drill in their building.

The students had plenty of fun mocking our vigil too.

But we had the last laugh; the students were first years who arrived mid-September to find a 24 hour 40 Days vigil on their doorstep. When the vigil finished at midnight on the last day, the students opened their windows and blared “Bye bye baby” by the Bay City Rollers out at us. They cheered as we packed up and went home, glad to see the back of us. When they woke up the next morning our normal daily vigil was up and running. They stared at us crestfallen! 

Another thing we have never blogged about is how during one of several 40 Days at Whitfield Street Marie Stopes were doing internal building work. The builders often arrived very early, so Marie Stopes staff started leaving the clinic front door key in the flowerpot on the doorstep for the builders to let themselves in.

I kid you not - an abortion provider was leaving its front door key in a flowerpot on the doorstep overnight. And they were doing this during a 40 Days for Life Vigil, you know, with those allegedly violent, harassing pro-lifers standing opposite, observing.

It became a running joke between ourselves and the builders that the key was being left. And yet no pro-lifer ever interfered in any way with the abortion centre.

Many people witnessed this practise of leaving the key there. And we do have some photos. I will share one here of the key in the flowerpot. I’m sorry to report that yes, this is genuine, and yes the keyring is appropriately tasteless.

During our 11 years of praying at this site, we have been able to offer help to tens of thousands of women and provide ongoing support to many including Alina and Aurelia, who have shared their stories publicly. 

We have had to assist some women to seek hospital treatment for a variety of problems after their treatment here, including at least one case of missed ectopic pregnancy which ruptured after the woman left the centre.  We have also met many women who regretted taking the first abortion pill and were desperately hoping they could still carry their baby to term.

In recent years some Marie Stopes Staff have come to us seeking help to find alternative jobs. They told us they thought the job with MS would involve helping vulnerable pregnant women who were aborting because of difficult situations but found that they were often facing abusive clients with aggressive partners, and that there was a big focus on money rather than on client health or staff wellbeing.

Thankfully these staff were able to get out and get work.

They told us this branch may close soon. That was the beginning of the hopeful whisper ‘This branch may close soon!’ It echoed around our heads for probably 3 long years before it became a positive statement.

For a few years now we have been praying to GK Chesterton for the closure of this and other clinics.

In October 2017, the relics of Jacinta and Francisco were brought to the vigil.

In 2018 we held a 9 day novena of prayer and witness outside Marie Stopes, including a Eucharistic Procession to the abortion centre. We were joined over the 9 days by 29 priests and 1 deacon, and on the final day, the Feast of Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel with Fr Stephen Boyle offering Mass in thanksgiving for the closure of this abortion centre (although it was not yet closed…)

There are some who will point to new MSI centres springing up like weeds as a reason why we should not rejoice at the closure of this centre. But we do rejoice, for the Mothers and children who have been hurt and killed there. And because we see the rush to open as many little centres as they can as what it is; a desperate attempt to increase the number of abortions and to reduce costs in an "industry" that has trouble recruiting and retaining staff at every level.

But for those who doubt God's hand in the closure of this centre, this is how we heard the news that the centre would close on Friday:

On Tuesday the following conversation appeared on our staff message group.  

Staff member Marco “Photographer is here at Marie Stopes taking photos of the building. It’s for an estate agents. I decided to stand aside in case they thought I came with the building”

Me: Lol! I really hope that is why he’s taking photos.

Marco: It is definitely no doubt. He is here on behalf of Chestertons Estate Agents. And the locals are all saying the staff have been made redundant Friday is their last day.

Me: Wow! Please God that’s all true. Chestertons Estate agents is that for real? You know they were actually owned by his GK Chesterton’s family (though they aren’t now).

Marco: Gosh I hadn’t even thought of what I was saying.

J: Google says its permanently closed.

Marco: I’m even flying the flag today (*attaches picture of his jacket*, see below)

Badge of Frances Chesterton, wife of G.K. Chesterton.

This is how we heard the news of the closing of the Whitfield St Abortion Centre.

By the way did I mention that Friday 28 May is the ‘Vigil’ of Chesterton’s Birthday? Meaning Whitfield Street will wake to an abortion free day, today - on GK’s Birthday.

A huge thank you to all the faithful staff, volunteers, vigil leaders, especially Siobhán the current Vigil leader, and all the Priests, religious, sisters and faithful pray-ers who have prayed and worked for the closure of this centre.

Gilbert & Frances Chesterton, pray for England, for the end of abortion and pray for us! Amen.

Clare McCullough

Ban On Silent Prayer, Upheld By The Court Of Appeal

The Good Counsel Network is deeply concerned for the many women who are coerced into abortions by partners, family or by circumstances. Over the last 7 years we have had the opportunity outside Marie Stopes to assist over 500 women to keep their babies through offering financial help, housing, practical help, baby goods, childcare and moral support. Ealing Council's PSPO prevents many women from accessing this help.

We are deeply saddened that the Appeal Court Judges have not taken into account the testimonies of these women and that they have ruled that even silent prayer and an offer of help should be banned outside the abortion centre. We understand that Alina will challenge this ruling further.

Hear from some of the mothers that the Pro-Life vigils have helped over the years, https://www.goodcounselnet.co.uk

Then join us in prayer, at a Vigil or on our Monthly Days of Prayer and Fasting for Life

Pro-Life Speech at this year’s March for Life, in Parliament Square by brave Mother who challenged Ealing Council in the High Court

“I’m not a stranger to the emotional intimidation of just being pregnant.

I’m not a stranger to being made to feel ashamed and embarrassed by the person I least expected, just because I became pregnant by him.

I am not a stranger to facing a choice between my job and my unborn baby.

I’m not a stranger to walking into an abortion facility because I did not have support or the help I most needed at that time.

Alina outside the High Court with her daughter at the start of the legal challenge to Ealing Council’s Censorship Zone

I’m not a stranger to the pain, stress, the sleepless nights of being faced with an unwanted pregnancy, but still my heart cried at the thought of going to end the life of the one who was my child, my first child.

I had exhausted every option, searching the internet, asking for help from friends, asking for help from Marie Stopes but the only option I was offered by them was abortion.

I felt that this was the end of the world for me and yet from all that darkness, I met a counsellor outside the abortion centre who was offering me light. At last I felt hope, I felt for the first time that my child was wanted, not only by me, but also by complete strangers. For the first time I felt that I was not walking alone on the day I was meant to end the life within me - my child.

I found help right at the gates of “hell” – Marie Stopes abortion centre.

I cannot express the joy and how fulfilled I felt as a woman, as a Mother, to be given the chance to have my child, to hold her tiny hands, hear her voice, to watch her grow and turn into such a fine young lady.

It wasn’t easy, but with help and support given by The Good Counsel Network, I made it, my little young lady made it too!

And I am here to say that no woman should ever feel she is alone and without hope. Expectant Mothers should have all of the information, resources and emotional support that they need during their pregnancy – especially an unexpected pregnancy.

A just and caring society doesn’t criminalise people for offering help to vulnerable Mothers.

Women are smart. Women should have all the information that they need when making life changing decisions, including the information that Marie Stopes doesn’t want them to have.”        Alina

[You can watch a video of Alina's speech here]

The Guardian's Shameful Abortion Centre Photo

For years we have had listen to lies from the media, politicians and abortion providers claiming that Pro-Lifers film clients going into abortion centres. Just last month we had staff from the abortion centre in Ealing on National Radio and the local MP, claiming that we live-stream from outside abortion centres. The Guardian have repeated all those claims time and time again. Yet no images of women entering or leaving abortion centres which have been taken by pro-lifers have ever appeared on social media or in the public domain. This is because pro-lifers DON'T photograph or film women entering abortion centres. We are there to offer help to pregnant Mums, it is unlikely that the hundreds of women that stop to talk to us would do so if we were filming.

Then on Sunday 26th November, the Guardian, who claim to be supporting women, published a photo of two women leaving the abortion centre in Ealing. [We have distorted the image above]. A 'pro-choice feminist' group calling itself Sister Supporter have also put up an image of another women attending this abortion centre.

So once again it is clear that the Pro-Lifers are there to help and respect women and the abortion campaigners are not. Please contact The Guardian and ask them to remove or distort the photo and ask them to never take or publish photos of women entering or leaving abortion centres again.

Please come to our vigils to pray and donate to help us support those women who choose life for their children.

Go to our website to see some videos with Mothers that we have been able to help.

Fearless Mum Takes on the "Experts" on Abortion Centre Vigils!

One of the Mothers we have been privileged to serve speaks here about the importance of offering help outside an abortion centre. The other women on the panel claim to speak for women entering the abortion centre, but only Alina speaks about her own actual experience of receiving, and later offering to other women, pregnancy support outside an abortion centre.

Please support our daily peaceful prayer vigils and donate to help us to continue to help those Mothers who are offered nothing except abortion by the other side.

Ambulance Arrives at Abortion Centre London

Safe, Legal Abortion?

Above: Marie Stopes Ealing - ambulance is called for client in the first week of 40 Days for Life, 13-22nd February 2013.

Ambulance Marie Stopes Ealing 28th February 2013

Paramedics and Ambulance attend Marie Stopes Ealing 1st March 2013

Ambulance Marie Stopes Ealing 9th March 2013 

Paramedics and Ambulance Marie Stopes Ealing 14th March 2013

Abortion Providers are always striving to portray Pro-lifers as liars, especially when we talk about the risks of abortion. marie stopes, that bastion of honesty and integrity, take it upon themselves to take our leaflets from girls as they enter their centres. And BPAS can be seen here on Twitter attacking that same leaflet.

Yet as the above pictures of ambulances show, abortion is far from the safe, simple procedure with no after-affects that these groups pretend it is. Since BPAS and marie stopes deny almost every complication of abortion, it is hard to believe that the women who were taken away in these ambulances were forewarned that this was a possible outcome.

Our volunteers have helped sick and faint girls to their feet outside the abortion centre when they are vomiting or weak and sick on leaving on several occassions.

So as we reach the final two days of the 40 Days for Life Campaign, we are aware of well over 20 women who have kept their babies, just from the vigils at Whitfield St and Ealing, not including those from the Bedford Square campaign.

We still pray there please come and join us in prayer; http://www.goodcounselnet.co.uk/Abortion--Clinic--Vigils.html

Please donate to Good Counsel so that we can continue to help the Mothers, who change their minds on the very doorstep of this abortuary.

As always, we have ensured that any women entering the abortion centre were NOT captured in any of the pictures taken.

Please note: These photos belong to the Good Counsel Network you may reproduce them on condition that you include a link to this original blogpost.

Clare McCullough

What m*r*e stopes fears most about our Vigils, in their own words: "baby pink and blue rosary beads"

Eddie and a fellow vigil keeper. Not filming anyone, harassing anyone, shouting at anyone, running after anyone or even cuddling anyone - just another normal day of loving women in trouble and their babies by offering them support and help.

Well since everyone is talking about it here and here and here, we may as well blog about it ourselves! Please consider making a donation to the excellent work of the Thomas More Legal Centre here, they kindly acted on our behalf free of charge.

Have a read of m*r*e stopes letter below, and note how similar the accusations they have thrown at us and those BPAS threw at 40 Days for Life and are now throwing at Abort67.

Re the camera and filming accusations, we DO NOT film the women at the vigil and have not in the past, and although we have taken pictures of the abortuary, we have always avoided doing so when women are entering. However, we do reserve the right to film the vigil itself to protect our staff and volunteers from the kind of false accusations made in this letter. Even if we do so, we still will avoid filming the women going in, if for no other reason than the fact that our whole aim is to offer them help and support. Not harrass them, scare them, humiliate them or judge them. For the most part we find that they have experienced rather a lot of this type of treatment by others already. And we don't think filming them would be very conducive to getting them to consider an offer of support!

From the solicitors of m*r*e stopes:

16th July 2012

Dear Sirs

Re: Protests outside of Marie Stopes international centres

We represent Marie Stopes International (MSI).
We have been asked to write to you in connection with the
ongoing activities of protestors affiliated with your organisation who protest
regularly outside of MSI’s centres. We have set out below our client’s concerns
in relation to such activities. Whilst MSI acknowledges your organisation’s
(and that of its members) right to protest, we strongly urge you to consider
how such protests may be conducted respectfully and without potentially
infringing the law and breaching MSI’s rights and those of its clients.

Approaching MSI’s clients

We understand that protestors have engaged in various acts
or conduct including shouted ‘Don’t
apologise just leave!’ or used
similar vocabulary at MSI’s clients, have approached clients with plastic
foetus’ asking the client to pray for the foetus, have attempted to intimidate
clients by running up to them, have handed out baby pink and blue rosary beads,
and have handed out leaflets containing graphic images. We further understand
that on occasion, where a client has stopped in response to a protestor, the
client has been surrounded by protestors who have tried to ‘cuddle’ the client.
These activities have caused some of MSI’s clients immense distress. We further
understand that at least one client was physically injured whilst being pursued
by a protestor.
Section 3A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (the
“Act”) provides for a civil right of action against harassment and allows one
to seek injunctive relief. Under the Act, a person must not pursue a course of
conduct which amounts to harassment of another and which he/she knows or ought
ot know amounts to harassment of the other. ‘Harassment’ includes a conduct
which causes distress. Our client is therefore concerned that some of your
activities may be in breach of the Act.

Filming MSI’s clients

We understand that protestors have filmed clients entering
and leaving MSI’s centres. Given that MSI’s clients state their names via the
intercom system upon entering the centre which can be heard by protestors
located by the entrance, the filming of MSI’s clients amounts to processing of
personal data. This activity can cause distress to MSI’s clients.

Section 10 of the Data Protection Act 1998 provides for a
right to prevent processing of personal data that causes distress. The
continued filming of MSI’s clients could force our client to seek a court order
to prevent a breach of the data protection rights of MSI’s clients.

Leaflets

It has further been brought to MSI’s attention that
protestors from your organisation distribute a leaflet entitled. “Pregnant...Worried?”
(the “leaflet”) which contains factually incorrect and/or misleading
information. The Leaflet claims that abortion can result in breast cancer,
disruption of the menstrual cycle and the inability to become pregnant in the
future. These claims are wholly unfounded. Likewise, the possible psychological
implications of abortion set out in the leaflet are also misleading.
MSI is entitled to make a complaint to the Advertising
Standards Authority on the basis that the information published in the leaflet
regarding the physical and psychological implications of abortion is
misleading, unsubstantiated and in some circumstances untrue.
We understand that your organisation has a right to protest
and our client recognises this right. The purpose of this letter is to inform
you of MSI’s concerns. Should your organisation or its members continue to
engage in activities which MSI considers unlawful, our client reserves the
right to seek all remedies as may be necessary, including injunctive relief.

Yours faithfully

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Our Reply, from Mr Neil Addison, of the Thomas More Legal Centre

Dear ...........

I am instructed on behalf of my client the Good Counsel Network (Good Counsel) to reply to your letter of 16th July sent on behalf of your client Marie Stopes International (MSI). I note at the outset that Good Counsel disagree with your description of their acts as being a "protest", it is rather a prayer vigil where Good Counsel pray for the unborn children daily killed by MSI and also for the mothers of those children. It is also an opportunity to offer women contemplating Abortion an alternative choice and is there to assist them in choosing to allow their child to live rather than be killed. Good Counsel offers counselling, practical help and moral support to women who are contemplating Abortion and also to women who have had Abortions and are suffering trauma afterwards. Ultimately the final decision is that of the mother of the child but Good Counsel, unlike MSI, does provide mothers with an alternative to Abortion. In any event whether called a prayer vigil or a protest the actions of Good Counsel are always carried out peacefully and lawfully and are protected under Common Law rights of peaceful assembly and under Articles 9, 10, 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. With regard to the specific allegations made in your letter

APPROACHING MSI'S CLIENTS Good Counsel deny that they or any person associated with them has shouted at clients of MSI indeed to do so would be completely counter productive and contrary to the purpose of Good Counsel which is to reach out to and talk to women. Representatives of Good Counsel do not seek to intimidate anyone whether by running up to them or otherwise. Representatives of Good Counsel approach women with leaflets which offer help to women considering a decision which, we assume, MSI would agree is an important decision and not one to be made lightly or on the basis of inadequate information. They do have models of pre-born children which may be shown to women and which are useful in showing women the accurate developmental stage of their child. This is a valid part of any counseling which is committed to ensuring that pregnant women have accurate information before they make any irrevocable decision.Good Counsel do indeed have Rosary beads which are in both "baby pink and blue" to use the description in your letter, the colours being chosen in memory of the baby girls and baby boys killed daily by MSI. These Rosary beads are not forced upon anyone and possession and use of the Holy Rosary is a "manifestation of religion" protected under Article 9. Leaflets containing graphic, but accurate, images of abortion are kept by Good Counsel representatives but they are not handed out in an indiscriminate manner as is suggested in your letter. Such pictures are shown on a one to one basis when the Good Counsel representative is in discussion with someone about Abortion. The leaflets are only given to someone when they request a copy which is often done in order to show the images to someone else who is pressuring the woman to have an Abortion. This constitutes the "imparting of information" and as such is protected under Article 10. I note at this point that the information provided to representatives of Good Counsel is that women who take any leaflets provided by Good Counsel are having them taken off them by staff members of MSI even when the woman wants to retain the leaflet and read it. I am informed by my Client that in the last month at least 2 women who had their leaflets taken from them by MSI staff asked for further copies from Good Counsel representatives after leaving MSI premises. They then went on to accept the support offered by Good Counsel and decided to keep their babies as a result of the help they were offered. [my emphasis] This action by MSI staff is an interference with the Article 10 rights of these women to "receive information" so it would seem that MSI are interfering with the Human Rights of pregnant women as well as, of course, ending the Right to Life of unborn children. Good Counsel by contrast is upholding the Human Rights of pregnant women as well as the right to life of their unborn children.Good Counsel deny that they or anyone associated with them has surrounded MSI clients or attempted to "cuddle" them against their will so as to cause them distress. I note at this point that MSI has frequently called the Police in order to complain about the activities of Good Counsel but the Police once called have never found any evidence of wrong doing by Good Counsel. Had persons associated with Good Counsel been surrounding women or attempting to touch them against their will, as your letter alleges, then that would be conduct contrary to the Public Order Act and the Police would have taken action. The fact that the Police have not done so is indicative of the fact that this alleged harassment has not occurred.You state that one of MSI clients was physically injured by someone associated with Good Counsel. I assume that such a serious incident, if it has actually occurred, will have been reported to the Police as an Assault. Can I therefore please be provided with confirmation of the Police station to which the alleged assault was reported, the date it was reported and the Police Crime Incident number. If this alleged assault was not reported to the Police then why not, certainly Good Counsel are not aware of any injury or any allegations of injury being suffered by any client of MSI.

PROTECTION FROM HARASSMENT ACT s3A. We note your reference to this Act and its requirements however you have failed to mention the defences in the Act in particular s1(3)(c) "that in the particular circumstances the pursuit of the course of conduct was reasonable." As already mentioned Good Counsel is exercising Common Law rights of peaceful assembly and rights guaranteed under Articles 9, 10, 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and as such its conduct is reasonable. I mention this defence without prejudice to the fact that Good Counsel deny that their vigil has caused harassment, alarm or distress or that any reasonable person would consider that the vigil amounts to harassment. In addition the allegations made by MSI do not reach the level of seriousness which the Courts in such cases as Majrowski v Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Trust [2006] UKHL 34 and Veakins v Kier Islington Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 1288 have stated is required in order to justify either a Civil or a Criminal allegation of harassment.

FILMING MSI's CLIENTS Good Counsel categorically deny that they or anyone associated with them has filmed or photographed clients entering or leaving MSI's premises. Participants in a vigil have on occasions videoed themselves as part of the provision of information to supporters etc about the vigil but Good Counsel do not and have not filmed clients of MSI or processed their personal data contrary to the Data Protection Act. Good Counsel do however reserve the right to film their vigil in the future as evidence of the peaceful manner in which it is conducted and as a defence against unfounded and inaccurate allegations of the type made in your letter. They will of course continue with their existing policy of not filming MSI clients.

LEAFLETS If you wish to waste your time and MSI's money by referring Good Counsel's leaflets to the Advertising Standards Authority you are of course at liberty to do so. I would however make the point that it is your own case that these leaflets are distributed by protestors as part of a protest and it would be an extraordinary extension of the remit of the ASA if it were suddenly to assume that it had the right to vet information given out as part of a protest. I frankly regard this suggestion that you would refer the matter to the ASA as simply an attempt to intimidate Good Counsel by making a threat which you yourselves must know is legally fatuous.

In any event Good Counsel is prepared if necessary to defend before the ASA or a Court everything said in its leaflets the contents of which are based on solid scientific study and on the testimony and experience of many women who have had Abortions. Good Counsel and organisations like it deal daily with women suffering the physical and psychological effects of Abortion; effects which MSI attempts to ignore. Let us be blunt Marie Stopes International makes a great deal of money by persuading women to kill their unborn babies and makes no money if women decide to keep their babies. Marie Stopes International is by no stretch of the imagination a neutral and impartial voice on the physical and psychological effects of Abortion and has a substantial financial interest in trying to silence any person or organisation which questions the effect of, or provides alternative information about, Abortion. That is very clearly what they are trying to do with regard to the work of the Good Counsel Network.

We would also remind you, MSI, and if necessary the ASA or a Court of the words of Mr Justice Supperstone in the case of British Pregnancy Advisory Service v Secretary of State for Health [2011] EWHC 235 (Admin )

"Abortion remains a controversial subject in respect of which there are differing deeply-held views."

and also the words of Mr Justice Munby in Smeaton v Secretary of State for Health [2002] EWHC 610 (Admin)

"Our society, including the most thoughtful and concerned sections of our society, are deeply troubled by, and indeed deeply divided over, such issues [ie Abortion]. These are topics on which men and woman of different faiths, or indeed of no faith at all, may and do hold, passionately and with the utmost sincerity, starkly differing views. All of those views are entitled to the greatest respect but it is not for a judge to choose between them"

Should MSI decide to pursue any form of legal action against Good Counsel that action will be defended with vigour Should you wish to correspond further on this issue I would be obliged if those communications were sent to me, (contact details...)

I am authorised by my Client to receive service of any legal documents should MSI be ill advised enough to want to go down that route. Good Counsel reserve the right to publicise your original letter, this reply and any response from you.

Sincerely

Neil Addison

(Barrister)

Thomas More Legal Centre

"Don't give me any of your Pro-Life #*@!"

I was outside marie stopes last week. Handing out leaflets that give info on the help available to women who will, with God’s help, decide to choose life instead of abortion. Sometimes people think that we are there to condemn and judge the ladies that are coming to the abortuary which, I might add, we definitely are not there to do. So people sometimes shout abuse at us while passing by, or tell us that they don’t like what we are doing, even though they don’t take the time to ask about what we are doing!
So anyway, I tried to hand a lady a leaflet and she promptly told me that she didn’t want any of my “anti-choice ***** ”. That we were “out of order” being there.
So I told her we were pro-life. She argued that we were not so I asked her when she thought life began. To which she answered “At birth”.
I then told her that medical scientists & biologists largely agreed that life begins at conception. She disagreed with this fact and told me she thought it was untrue, as she worked for the Department of Health .
I then made he mistake of asking her, sarcastically, if she was a scientist or a biologist, to which she replied that she was and then walked off!
We are taught to see the person of Christ in all the people we meet while we are outside the abortuary.( especially the ones who are nasty to us). So instead of being sarcastic, what I should have done was pray for God’s blessing on her. But while we are doing the vigil, God reveals things like that to us all the time.
Later while I was praying a few things came me; While looking through one of the leaflets, I noticed there were plenty of choices in it- just not the one option of killing a baby in the womb.
My thoughts and prayers also came around to the horrible murder of pregnant Nikitta Grender and her unborn daughter who she had already named Kelsey Mae. May they rest in peace. It had been all over the news that the perpetrator of this horrendous crime would also be charged with child destruction and rightfully so. The lady who said that she worked for the health deptartment might not agree but thank God, in this case, the Crown Prosecution Service does.

Eddie Bauer

What to do for Lent?

What should I do For Lent? Go and pray at marie stopes abortuary at 108 Whitfield Street, London, W1T 5EA, with Good Counsel, 9am until 1.30pm Monday to Friday each week? Or should I go to Bedford Square, London, WC1X and pray outside the bpas abortuary as part of the 40 Days for Life? Or should I go to Both?

As this is quite a large undertaking for the Pro-Life Movement in London, so please do what you can to help.

If comming to Whitfield Street please let us know if you can as that helps our schedule.
Text 07932105696

Stuart McCullough

Praying In The Snow At An Abortuary

So the almost daily vigil at marie stopes house, which is now an abortuary, is off to a good start, Monday there was a tube strike, Tuesday it snowed and today one of the key organisers was off to the doctor as he is sick. In spite of all this a small number of Pro-Lifers have spent 13 and a half hours praying and counselling outside 108 Whitfield Street, London, W1T 5EA. The nearest tube stations are Great Portland Street and Warren Street.

So will you be there on Friday? 9am until 1.30pm. As I have said before, one of the things that saddens me is the fact that most women going for an abortion do not get an offer of help to keep their baby. When we go to the abortuary, the offer of help can be given. Whatever time you can spend with us will be a help, 30 minutes, 2 hours, the full 4 and a half hours, whatever. If you can tell us what times you can attend we can plan the day, but if not come anyway. Telephone 02077231740 or info@goodcounselnetwork.freeserve.co.uk

Who will be the first Priest to attend. (Photo is of Fr Whinder leading the prayers there as part of the 40 Days of Life)

Stuart McCullough

Twenty Incisive Questions For Marie Stopes International

London based Baptist Pastor, Mike Gilbart Smith has written to Marie Stopes International in response to their TV Advert and the controversy surrounding it. In a brilliant letter he asked them the 20 questions that they apparantly cannot answer, since his letter in May he received an acknowledgement and a promise of a full response, but he is still waiting as far as I can see from his blog, http://lovingchurch.blogspot.com/search?q=marie+stopes

I am printing the whole of his letter here, since sometimes readers don't/can't follow links through and anyway it really cuts to the heart of the matter.

When you have read it, and are reminded of the awfulness of what Marie Stopes and other abortionists do, don't forget to do something positive and sign yourself up for some slots with www.40daysforlife.com/london or if you are not in London, contact http://www.hgpi.co.uk/ to find your nearest abortuary vigil of prayer.

Dear Tony,
I’m writing as a pastor of a church who is going to be addressing the issue of abortion in my teaching and in some upcoming articles in the light of your recent advertising. I want to make sure that I would not be misrepresenting you in any way at all, though I should make clear to you that I do believe that abortion, and particularly providing abortion is immoral.
However, I also want to be as courteous as I can with those with whom I disagree. I do not want to assume bad motivation for what you are doing. I understand the arguments of wanting to provide “safe” (obviously for the mother and not the baby) abortion when your fear is that if “safe” abortion were not provided, then back street abortion would inevitably be sought. The compassion you show to mothers I believe to be genuine, but misplaced.
I do happen to agree with what I heard a Marie Stopes spokesperson say when she was hoping that there would be a removing of the taboo about speaking about abortion. I too hope that this taboo will be removed so that there can be an honest public debate about abortion.
To contribute to this debate I hope to write some articles about abortion and about Marie Stopes in particular. There is much information on your website, but there were some questions that I didn’t find answers to, which I would be very grateful if you’d answer.
I must also be clear that intend to distribute your answers.
If you would rather meet in person to have a face to face conversation, I would also be very glad to do that.
(I will use the term “mother” for the pregnant woman). Feel free to exchange the term for “Pregnant woman” if you would prefer that term, or to use another term of your choosing.
1) When speaking to a mother will you always make it clear exactly what help is available to mothers who decide to keep the baby.
2) What ongoing support do you offer to mothers who decide to keep the baby?
3) Do you always ask mothers if they are feeling pressurised into having abortions from others (e.g. boyfriends, husbands, parents, or the general expectations of society)?
(Several women whom I have spoken to who have had abortions have told me that they felt immense pressure that in a society where abortion is legal, there will be people telling them that having an abortion is “doing the right thing” and that it is irresponsible to have the baby.)
4) Do you always suggest to mothers that it is never irresponsible to carry a baby and give birth once they are pregnant?
5) I’ve noticed in your FAQ’s that in more than sixty questions there is a lot of information about abortion, but there is no information on the development of the foetus. Do you think that the developmental stage of the foetus should be a factor that a mother should be informed about in order to have adequate information in making a decision as to whether to have an abortion?
6) I understand that you must legally have a sonographic scan before an abortion is carried out. What details from that scan will you always communicate to the mother so that she might make a correctly informed decision?
a. Will you always tell the mother the estimated age of the foetus?
b. Will you always tell the mother what this corresponds to in terms of development?
c. Could you outline the detail that you would go into as to the development of the foetus, with the following being a suggestive rather than an exhaustive list?
i. Will you tell the mother whether there is a heartbeat?
ii. Will you tell the mother whether the child has a brain?
iii. Will you tell the mother whether the child has a limbs and fingers and fingernails?
iv. Will you tell the mother whether the child has ears eyes and a nose?
v. Will you tell the mother which internal organs of the child are functional?
vi. Will you tell the mother the gender of the foetus if that is discernable?
d. If you don’t volunteer that information do you always ask the mother if she would be interested in knowing the facts about the foetus’ development in order to help her make her decision?
7) Do you have a policy in training staff that they avoid the terms “baby” or “child” in reference to the foetus?
8) Do you have a policy encouraging staff to use the term “pregnancy” instead of “foetus” or an equivalent term that would point to the fact that there is an organism other than the mother involved in the pregnancy?
9) Do you have a position as an organisation about when a human embryo/foetus becomes a human being?
10) Do you think that it would be morally acceptable to provide abortion even if you believed the foetus was already a human being?
11) If infanticide were legalised in some country, would you offer that as a service?
12) What is the minimum time allowed for a proper counselling session to look through all possible options before going ahead with an abortion?
13) How much did the NHS pay you last year to carry out abortions?
14) Do you think that there is any conflict of interest in Marie Stopes providing advice on whether a mother should have an abortion when Marie Stopes is paid for providing abortions?
15) In order to get your email address I phoned the 0845 300 80 90 number. Will my call automatically be counted in your statistics as being from a woman who called for advice but didn’t receive an abortion?
16) If a woman calls your line twenty times, will they be “counted” on your statistics of the number of women you’ve helped once or twenty times?
17) If after an abortion, the baby (I assume we can now use this term without controversy as she is outside the womb) shows some signs of life, do you have a policy stating that the medical personnel present should act to resuscitate? Do you have a policy saying that they may not act to resuscitate?
18) Would you carry out an abortion if the stated reason given by the woman was that she wanted a boy, and this foetus is a girl?
19) If asked would you carry out a selective abortion in order to remove the healthy girl from the womb and leave the healthy boy in the womb?
20) In your five abortion clinics in China, what proportion of those who are aborted are girls?
Thank you so much for your willingness to answer these questions. In removing the taboo from conversation about abortion I trust that you are wanting honest, open and informed debate. I hope that you taking the time to answer these questions will add to the honesty and help to remove the taboo from the abortion conversation.
Perhaps if you want to add to the honesty of the debate you’d also be happy to post the answers you give on your own website?
Many thanks,
Sincerely,
Mike Gilbart-Smith

Advertising Standards Authority: Don't call Pro-life Help Real Help

Despite rejecting more than 5,000 complaints against Marie Stopes International for promoting abortion on TV, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has gone on to bowdlerise a Pro-Life advertisement on the London Underground.
The Good Counsel Network recently placed an advert in London tube stations to reach women in crisis pregnancies and offer them help, as part of their Maria Stops Abortion Campaign. But once the advert copy was submitted to the company who deals with much of the advertising on the Tube, they referred it to the Advertising Standards Authority’s Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) to ensure that it didn’t breach the Advertising Standards Code.
CAP’s first response warned that the use of the name “Maria Stops Abortion” could mean that the poster was seen as denigrating Marie Stopes International. Phrases in the Pro-life ad such as “Find Real Help” and “We really can help” were read as attacking Marie Stopes' failure to provide help. The Good Counsel Network immediately agreed to remove this text from the ad. We felt it was better to get the ad up quickly than to spend months wrangling about the text Maria Stops Abortion being in it or not.
CAP had stated that:

“Because the [ad] mentions ‘Find real help’ and ‘we really can help’ in relation to the Maria Stops Abortion copy [this] would be seen as a claim that a competitor cannot help. We would advise removing the relevant words ‘real’ help/ we ‘really’ can help. They could say ‘find help’ and ‘we can help’ in order to position their service in a less critical manner.”

I then phoned CAP and assured them that “Maria Stops Abortion” was being removed from the advert. I was suprised to find that CAP officials, however, continued to claim that Marie Stopes was still being denigrated by the ad, even though it no longer mentioned them at all!
Tom Marshall, a copy advisor with CAP said that their concerns about the terms, "Find real help" and "We really can help" remained the same as before. He insisted that we were clearly criticising Marie Stopes. Actually, as I pointed out, nothing in the advert referred to Marie Stopes at all. But Mr Marshall replied, "They are your main competitor".

Why should our ad be seen as having a go at MS not for example BPAS or another abortion provider? He replied that due to recent events such as the Marie Stopes TV ad and the furore it caused, people would assume that Marie Stopes were being criticised for a failure to provide genuine help to women in crisis pregnancies.”

Why they were so protective of Marie Stopes I did not know, but a quick look at the ASA's adjudication on the Marie Stopes TV ad helped me to understand. It shows that they have passed that ad accepting Marie Stopes' claim that:

"The ad did not encourage, promote or advocate abortion, but raised awareness about MSIs 24-hour Advice Line, which provided information about sexual health and all pregnancy choices, including, but not limited to, abortion."

The ASA adjudication states:
"We understood that MSI was a Pregnancy Advice Bureau (PAB) regulated by the Department of Health and, as a provider of services on behalf of the NHS, were obliged to offer a range of advice on all the options available to pregnant women."
and again:
"We also noted that many complainants regarded the advertisers as advocates of abortion and therefore interpreted the ad as a promotion of abortion. However, the ad was for an advice service for women dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, and stated that MSI could help women who were "pregnant and not sure what to do". We understood that MSI provided a wide range of advisory and health services and advised on all options during consultations with clients. We noted that the ad did not focus on any one particular service offered by MSI and did not mention abortion. We therefore considered it was an ad for a general pregnancy advice service for women who wished to learn about and discuss their options, which might include, but were not limited to, abortion."
Unfortunately, several recent calls I made to MSI's Helpline (sic) have shown that their operators were unable to provide the number of even one UK based pregnancy help centre. I was given the name of Sidelines (a USA pregnancy centre) but then told "Oh sorry that's not in this country". On another call though I stressed that I was calling for a woman who was under pressure to abort and had serious money problems, the operator repeatedly tried to send me to the Family Planning Association, Brooks Advisory Centre or Connexions. Presumably because these agents of death were the only people she had numbers for.
Understandably enough, for as Our Lord said:
Every kingdom divided against itself, shall be brought to desolation, and house upon house shall fall. And if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? (Luke 11:17-18)
See the ASA Adjudication on Marie Stopes here
Despite their own and the Advertising Standards Authorities assurances to the contrary, Marie Stopes International were totally unable to refer me for any help when I requested help for a woman wanting to keep her baby in the face of homelessness, pressure from others or debts.
It seems ridiculous that the ASA considers it’s role in this case to protect Marie Stopes against any imagined attack on it. Once the text Maria Stops Abortion was removed from our ad there was no reason for anyone to take any thing in the ad as an attack on Marie Stopes. The emphasis on REAL help was aimed at women who have real practical needs such as financial problems or nowhere to live. In our experience these women expect that they will be offered tea and sympathy but no concrete help.
We hope we have still managed to get this across despite the censorship.

You can see the text of the advert before and after censorship below. Changes have been highlighted in bold.

The Original Text of the Advert:
Find real help and support in a crisis pregnancy, today. Whatever the problem is, we really can help
The Good Counsel Network is a Catholic, Pro-Life group based in London. We provide friendship, creative solutions, real practical help and support to women in crisis pregnancies and afterwards, regardless of their beliefs, nationality, legal status etc.
This advert is part of the Maria Stops Abortion Campaign

The Bowdlerised Version
Find the help and support you may need in a crisis pregnancy today. Whatever the problem is, we can help.
The Good Counsel Network is a Catholic, Pro-Life group based in London. We provide
friendship, creative solutions, practical help and support to women in crisis
pregnancies and afterwards, regardless of their beliefs, nationality, legal status etc.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Pray for us!

Clare McCullough

Symbollic Action at the Gates of Hell

The day of the Marie Stopes’ TV ad, we arranged a peaceful, prayerful vigil outside Marie Stopes House. The day of May 24th dawned, the sun dazzled and the sky was a brilliant mantle blue.
Three of us, Lynne, Sr. Chinedum and I walked onto Whitfield Street, walked towards Marie Stopes House with the intention of starting the vigil. The minute we reached the railings of the building we heard an aggressive man (who we later learned was some kind of security guy) say, ‘Who are you? Are you here to obstruct the entrance to Marie Stopes, are you? You are not allowed.’
‘And who are you?’ asked Lynne.
‘I work for Marie Stopes International, and I’m telling you not to obstruct our building.’
Lynne kept her voice very calm, did not stop setting up for the vigil and pointing to the posh Marie Stopes building, she said,

‘That is Marie Stopes’ building, inside there, we are on the pavement. The pavement is not Marie Stopes'. You are also on the pavement, I can’t tell you to get off the pavement.’
The angry man didn’t say anything in response; we blessed ourselves with holy water from Lourdes, stayed at the first door of the building, and started the Joyful Mysteries. A Marie Stopes side-kick came out and asked the security guy what we were doing there. The side-kick was dressed professionally, but I never learned her job-title, yet her job that day consisted of frog-marching pregnant girls from the street inside the clinic. The street is not owned by Marie Stopes, yet this side-kick started the business of Marie Stopes on the street, by marching up to a woman approaching the building, putting her arms around her in a ring shape, saying ‘you don’t need that thing’, when we tried to put a leaflet in her hands, and would not let her make the choice as to whether tshe wanted to speak with us or not.
The girls would approach the first door, but were frog-marched into the second door. That meant we had to cover the two doors, the first where the girls would approach, and the second where they would enter. Sr. Chinedum stayed at the first door.
Another Volunteer, Mary (like myself) and I went to the second door and finished the first of seven Rosaries, and ten Divine Mercy chaplets.
During our prayer time, a camera crew arrived from a French television station. They received bright smiles from the two Marie Stopes workers, and got a cheesy ‘Hi guys!’. The journalist with the camera crew wanted to interview me, but I declined. It could have been potentially disastrous to do so; during that precious time I was there to offer help and to advise girls, I could have ‘missed’ a girl by wasting time talking to an antagonistic camera crew. I had to be ever vigilant and ready to smile at a girl who at any moment had got the courage to speak to someone who wasn’t death peddling. But also, the Vigil itself is the complete message; praying and offering help speaks volumes, so there was nothing further to communicate to the press.
My refusal to speak to the French crew did not stop them asking at least four more times to interview us, and then pointing their camera five inches from my face. The other Mary had a touch of palpitations when the French camera crew zoomed in like gigantic bugs. For a couple of seconds I stopped praying and said, ‘I’m so nervous about that camera, we can’t do as good a job of talking to the pregnant mothers.’ The other Mary made a very good point in response to this; ‘we live in a society where cameras are everywhere. We are always on camera. But with that guy putting that camera in our faces it’s more obvious.’
After the French camera crew had finally strutted away. We had a small lull and were able to give four girls leaflets without a camera trailing us. Then the BBC came. The atmosphere seemed very cordial between the Marie Stopes workers and the BBC. In the distance, I heard the BBC journalist apologising to the Marie Stopes woman who was marching women into the clinic. And there were warm smiles and handshakes. The BBC filmed us, looked at us with stone faces, but cleared off fast. Meanwhile more people came to pray in front of the clinic, and six women and one man were praying the Rosary.
There was a blessed quarter of an hour when no girls went into the clinic, and we prayed all the harder. The security guy violently thwacked a bottle against the railings as if it was a baton just behind me and the other Mary. Someone working in the building came out, pointed at us and said mockingly, ‘do I need salvation? Look at them!’ ‘Oh yeah! You need salvation all right. What a joke!’ said the woman who was marching the girls in.
Another British camera crew came but didn’t stay long, and didn’t say who they were. A Polish camera crew came, and what dumbfounded me was that the pretty blond reporter gave us a sincere smile, and the cameraman waved at us. They told us that Poland is a very Catholic county, and that praying outside clinics was of great interest to the general population, and that the Polish people would support our vigil. This was almost in stereotypical contrast to the attitudes of both the British and French crews. The Polish crew asked – politely – if they could ask us a few questions. We declined again. The sun was still dazzling, and I had to feel sorry for the many heavily covered Muslim teenage girls who trudged their way into the clinic looking dejected. But they weren’t the only ones suffering the bright grill of the sun, the clinic workers were getting uncomfortable in the sun, and at quarter to one, the woman asked us,
‘Are you going to be here all afternoon? I said are you going to go away at any point?’
At one, we packed up our things and strode out of the street. I gave a fleeting glance to the clinic workers who lingered outside the clinic, they fixed sharp eyes on us to make sure we were leaving. We had visited the gates of hell, but were not staying.

Mary O' Regan

Read what the retired Bishop of Lancaster, Bishop Patrick O'Donaghue said about Marie Stopes TV Ad Campaign here.

Prayer Vigil Outside Marie Stopes House, Also Shown On TV

On Monday the 24th May, Marie Stopes Abortion providers aired the first Abortion TV advert in the UK on Channel 4.
Many good people responded to this advert by contacting their MP, channel 4 and Marie Stopes themselves.
Many joined us in Prayer and Fasting on the 21st May.
On the day the advert was to be aired, the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, a small group went to Marie Stopes House which is now an abortuary and whilst praying offered real help and support to the pregnant women going in.
Whilst the main purpose of this prayer vigil was to help the women, four film crews arrived at Marie Stopes in relation to the advert, they stopped and filmed us praying. As a result we had part of the Divine Mercy Chaplet recited on the national BBC News! Not a bad thing.

It is vitally important that when these issues arise, we sign petitions, lobby our MPs and contact the culprits etc etc.
But it is also vitally important that we go to the scene of the tragedy and offer to help resolve the women’s problems and not just when abortion is in the news.
It is also vital to remember that if Pro-life work is not supported by prayer and fasting it will come to naught.

Stuart McCullough