It took seven years, but Christians determined to stop a late-term abortionist in their Maryland neighborhood finally got the clinic to shut down through praying at the site and opening an office across from the clinic where over 400 women seeking abortions wound up changing their minds and bearing their children.
It all started in 2010 when medical researcher Andrew Glenn discovered that late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart opened a late-term abortion clinic only a mile from Glenn’s home in Germantown, MD.
Carhart would fly out weekly to Maryland; on Sunday nights he would see the mothers, then, on Monday morning, he would inject the baby with deadly chemicals to induce its death, then complete the horrific act by dilating the women and dismembering the dead babies within the next two days.
Glenn, who has five children, mobilized other Christians in the area to found the Maryland Coalition for Life. That group induced 30 area churches and several thousands of volunteers to peacefully pray in front of the clinic for seven years.
The Coalition paid to close down Carhart’s clinic; it closed September 27, 2017.
Glenn stated: “I think a lot of Christians who had been on the sidelines woke the sleeping dragon, just coming to the realization that late-term abortion was happening in our neighborhood. Multiple denominations, both Catholic and non-Catholic, got involved together. We just prayed and asked God what we could do to stand up and help these women who are faced with unexpected pregnancies and difficult situations.”
Glenn’s group, comprised of sidewalk counselors and prayer teams, could not impede the flow of women to Carhart’s clinic, which was in the middle of a medical complex, so they found an office space where they could open a pregnancy help center in March 2012, across from Carhart’s clinic. They called the office “Germantown Pregnancy Choices.”
The Coalition would act as an intermediary for the women so they could obtain ultrasounds from the Rockville Women’s Center and Shady Grove Pregnancy Center.
Betsy Evans, Rockville Women’s Center’s executive director, enthused, “It has really been amazing to see how churches and individuals banded together. Clearly, everyone working on this relied on God for every step. It was humbling to see so many personalities, so many different denominations, so many different sizes of churches be unified in eliminating this abortion facility. There was such a spirit of cooperation.”
But as pregancyhelpnews.com reports, there is still work to be done:
While Carhart is out of business in Germantown, he has told The Washington Post that he’s committed to reopen his deadly practice — which has sent at least 10 women to the hospital in ambulances and killed two women — in Maryland. When and if he does, a 2012 Maryland law will require him to open publicly as a state-licensed surgical abortion facility, allowing the Maryland Coalition for Life to strategize and bring life-affirming choice to women in his new location.