This book by Planned Parenthood’s 2008 Employee of the Year is worth reading regardless of what “side” you’re on. Who knows what actually happens in an abortion clinic? Those women who have worked there themselves.
Abby Johnson is a post-abortive former clinic manager of a large Planned Parenthood in Texas. Like many, she began her career set on helping women. The longer she worked in the industry, the more she witnessed that weighed heavily on her.
She’s been on both sides of the fence, and now she’s built a gate so others disillusioned by the lies they were told and deeds they have done can find an easier way out.
In my experience, people who are suffering most often want someone to listen and be present to them. The young, the old, the frightened, the bold, the greatest and the least would like someone to acknowledge their existence and remain with them in their time of need.
The many examples of hope and compassion inspired me the most about The Walls Are Talking. This is not an easy book to read. I knew that going in. I thought I would be shocked by the stories in these pages. Some of the details included are truthful in a way that is at times both gory and horrifying. Over the past several years, I have read numerous articles and studies in print and online, including the book Unplanned , and I have watched several documentaries on the abortion industry. Two of the most powerful documentaries I've seen are Changing Sides and Bloodmoney (narrated by Dr. Alveda King). I would have felt really blown away had I not read or viewed any insider information in advance.
You are not alone if you have ever thought: I have to hide my pain. I can never tell anyone what I’ve done. I don’t deserve to be forgiven. I have to pretend that everything is fine. My heart and life are irreparably broken. No one else understands or cares about what I’m going through.
After doing some research that left her reeling, my mom became an active pro-life advocate. Her passion for prayer and her dedication to helping women and children has always inspired me. Over the past several years, I have watched her lead our local 40 Days for Life campaign and support a number of local organizations who help women faced with unplanned pregnancies get the support and information they need.
Through those outreach ministries I became involved in with my mom, I came to know one of the couples in our community who was very close to post-abortive women. Kay Marie and Joe Geiger headed up Rachel’s Vineyard post-abortion healing retreats in our area for many, many years.
Have you ever talked with someone who made you feel as if you were the only person in the world who mattered at that moment? Kay Marie Geiger had the ability to listen and be fully present to the person in front of her. I haven’t met many people who are as loving, gentle, and compassionate as she was.
It is my sincere hope and prayer that more people who have had an abortion or who have worked in the abortion industry would have the blessing of meeting people like Kay Marie and Joe Geiger. We could use more people listening and whispering in the midst of the shouting and doubting. Forgiveness and healing are possible. It’s never too late. Rachel’s Vineyard post-abortion healing retreats are still happening in our area and around the world. Find one near you.
Abby Johnson’s conversion is expanded upon in her best-selling book Unplanned. This follow-up to her conversion story chronicles her own experiences working for Planned Parenthood as well as those of many other women who were employed in clinics across the country. The book is well-written, clear, concise, and includes a variety of insights into the abortion industry. For more information about The Walls Are Talking: Former Abortion Clinic Workers Tell Their Stories or to order your own copy, click here.
To read more about the nonprofit organization Abby Johnson started to help abortion clinic workers, check out And Then There Were None (ATTWN).
