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During her time as a sidewalk advocate, Edna gained knowledge of local resources for supporting mothers in need. She became adept in meeting abortion-bound women with care and boldness as they entered the abortion facility, and in directing them toward community support. On many occasions, Edna accompanied women who were unsure about their abortion decision to the local Pregnancy Center, where they received high-quality ultrasounds and resources to help them be the best moms they can be.
Edna's Tips for Effective Sidewalk Counseling
When Edna joined Embryo Advocates for a podcast interview, she shared all her top tips for effective advocacy outside your local abortion clinic. Let's dive in and learn from her years of experience and passionate heart.
1. Be Compassionate
Edna emphasized the role of showing kindness, care, compassion, and thoughtfulness to abortion-bound women when you encounter them outside the abortion facility. By interacting in a way that prioritizes sharing genuine love, Edna has played a role in helping many women choose life. When a mother comes to an abortion clinic and hears people speaking to her from the sidewalk, it can be scary. Strangers can be unpredictable, and not all behaviors lend themselves to building trust in a high-risk situation like this one. But by being a presence of grace and boldness, we can help save mother and child from violence that would otherwise await them on the other side of the clinic door.
I was there many Friday mornings when Edna was sidewalk counseling. Her gentle invitation, "We're here to help you," or "You don't have to do this," started lots of conversations with women headed towards abortion. When a car would stop, roll their window down, and begin to speak with Edna, she met them with care, presented them with a selection of flyers that offered free help for moms and babies, and inquired about the crisis they were facing and how she could help them. This support she offered from the kindness of her heart, in a non-judgmental way, was drastically different from the behavior the mother would encounter inside the abortion facility, where she would offer up her hard-earned money to an abortionist who would carry out actions that would destroy her little one's life for good.
Compassion is world-changing, and it can rescue mothers and babies who would otherwise experience immense harm from abortion.
2. Take the Time to Get to Know what Resources Your Community Can Offer Women Facing Unplanned Pregnancy
Many years of volunteering as a sidewalk advocate eventually left Edna with a vast wealth of knowledge on community resources for women and babies in need. However, there was a time at the beginning of her activism at Heritage Clinic for Women when she did not yet know exactly where to point these mothers. By talking with other counselors outside the clinic, Edna began to compile contact information and resources. She also visited local Pregnancy Centers and talked with the Priest at her church to identify what specific ways these entities could help abortion-determined women to turn away and make a non-violent choice for her baby and herself.
In her interview with Embryo Advocates, Edna emphasized the importance of three particular kinds of resources that can change the lives of mothers in crisis.
(1) Pregnancy Centers
Local pregnancy centers offer substantive help to women experiencing unplanned pregnancies. These resources may include confidential pregnancy counseling, pregnancy testing, ultrasounds performed by a qualified medical professional, mentorship, single mom support groups, parenting classes, GED classes, job training, baby clothes and supplies, maternity clothing, pregnancy supplies, cribs, pack and plays, diapers, and wipes. All these services are available at no cost to the mother. Unfortunately, the abortion industry has sought to demonize Pregnancy Centers because they are highly effective in deterring women from abortion. Therefore, many women either don't know the local Pregnancy Center exists or have been told false narratives about these nonprofits. Sidewalk counselors can help women in crisis access the support available through these centers by picking up their promotional materials, such as flyers and brochures, and offering them to women outside the abortion clinic.
I once talked to a mother outside an abortion facility who was particularly in need of Pregnancy Center support. As I called out to her to encourage her to choose life, she stopped in her tracks, looked up at me, and called back, "I'm going to need all the help you've got. I'm having twins." That mom chose life for her babies. God persuaded her to leave the abortion clinic and turn to pro-life resources instead. It's thanks to local Pregnancy Centers and other supportive resources that women like this one can become the very best moms they can be when they didn't expect to have a child.
(2) Local Churches
Edna discussed the importance of the local church in getting women the support they need during an unplanned pregnancy. Where she attends church, the Priest is highly connected to community support and has access to resources that have assisted several pregnant women who turned away from abortion. Some churches have benevolence funds that can support mothers facing financial need. And churches can also serve as a hub of volunteering and social connection -- places women in need can get connected and form new friendships during what may be an isolating season of life.
(3) Social Capital
Each of us has networks of relationships as individuals, and this social capital also exists on a larger level at our local churches. When women facing crisis pregnancies need things like a place to stay, a crib, a household appliance, baby clothes, or other resources, checking in with our support networks can offer more help than we ever knew was surrounding us.
Edna shared in her interview with Embryo Advocates that when she would meet women outside the abortion facility, she would ask around in her community to see if the particular kind of help needed in the life of a mother was available. Other sidewalk advocates have sometimes taken to social media, with permission, to ask their social network if they are capable of meeting specific needs. For example, a sidewalk advocate I know posted on social media that he was in search of a refrigerator because a mother facing a crisis pregnancy had a fridge that died. This put her in a rough spot since she was already a single mother to several other children and was in a financial bind. By checking with his social network, the advocate was able to get her a new refrigerator, which she would not have otherwise been able to afford.
3. Face Your Fear, and Speak Up
Standing outside an abortion clinic and offering women alternatives can feel intimidating. When we choose to go anyway and face our fears, it can drastically alter the course of the future for many mothers and babies who would otherwise be harmed through abortion. Edna is not the kind of person who seeks confrontation or arguing -- she is a gentle soul who is careful with people. Even so, she chose to face pushback from pro-choice protesters outside the abortion clinic, people who scream profanities at her as they drive by the facility, and aggression from some abortion clinic staff, all because she cares so much about babies in the womb and saving them from death.
You, too, are capable of cultivating boldness and reaching out to women at your local abortion facility. Former abortion workers, such as Abby Johnson, have shared that a sidewalk counselor's mere presence outside the abortion clinic increases the abortion clinic's no-show and cancellation rate. A pro-life presence at a place of execution and death has the power to deter people from a decision that would otherwise destroy a living child. Consider how God may want to use you at your local abortion facility, and dare to stand on behalf of women and babies alike, as you offer resources and abortion alternatives.
4. Have Healthy Boundaries with Ministry Involvement
Edna has always made it a priority to put her role as a wife, mom, and grandma above being an activist. When the needs of her family would change, Edna would occasionally have to skip her weekly day of sidewalk counseling. She could do this with peace because she knew that God is the greatest advocate for the unborn, not her, so God will continue to reach people even when she has to step away to help her husband or grandchild on occasion.
I really admire the way Edna approaches the abortion issue and handles her commitments in life; she knows that another sidewalk counselor may be able to fill in for her if she has to miss volunteering outside the abortion clinic, but no one can replace her as the beloved wife, mom, and grandma that she is. Pro-life advocates sometimes struggle with a healthy work-life balance and can fall out of alignment when hotly pursuing anti-abortion goals.
We will become healthier as activists when we remember that we are each, first of all, children made by God -- we depend on God Himself to care well for us. Then we are sons or daughters to our earthly parents; we are sisters or brothers. Many of us are also mothers or fathers, husbands or wives. And we will do our highest-impact work when our priorities are straight. First, we have to pursue our own individual relationships with God through His Word. Then we need to care for our family relationships and be good stewards of our own bodies and minds. Then, after these priorities, we have to tend to our work -- be that paid or volunteer.
If you want to save a lot of preborn babies from the violence of abortion, like Edna has, start by examining yourself and see if you have set healthy priorities for your life. Check in and examine if you really want to glorify God with the volunteering you are doing, or if you are seeking fame. God knows our hearts, and He will not bless work that is done from a haughty or disordered spirit.
5. Consider the Example of Other Sidewalk Counselors who Inspire You
One day, Edna and her husband went on a trip to visit their adult daughter, Teresa. While they visited, Teresa asked Edna if she would accompany her in sidewalk counseling at the abortion facility near her home. Edna agreed with a bit of hesitation since she had never done this before. While Edna observed the way her daughter reached out to abortion-determined women, she was inspired. When Edna and her husband got home from visiting Teresa, Edna decided she too should regularly sidewalk counsel.
The presence of other healthy and effective activists can help each of us to improve our advocacy and inspire us to take further action to fight against abortion. When you begin sidewalk counseling, you will likely meet pro-lifers with a multitude of different approaches. Develop friendships with sidewalk counselors from your local abortion facility who inspire you. We can learn from each other and improve the way we reach out to mothers in need when we are open to new ways of trying outreach and to learning from other people's activism journey.
6. Be a Presence of Long-Term Support and Friendship to Women Who Choose Life When Possible
Engaging in a ministry like sidewalk counseling can create new relationships with women in crisis. These ladies tend to vary in their approach to help outside of the abortion clinic. Some abortion-determined women will receive the resources you offer them and go to the pregnancy center by themselves, and may desire no further contact with the counselor. On the other hand, some women want the sidewalk counselor to accompany them to the pregnancy center, and may wish to stay in close contact with you throughout the pregnancy and after. Each mother and baby are different, so it's best for sidewalk advocates to respect the process women develop when they choose life -- if they want to be frequently in contact with you, or if they decide to pursue community support for themself and their baby without you.
In some cases, Edna developed long-term relationships with women who chose life. Some of them would repeatedly reconnect with Edna, year after year, to invite her to birthday parties for their son or daughter who was saved from abortion. One sidewalk advocate named Stephanie threw a large baby shower for a mother who chose life and was invited to attend the birth as well. Even if the connections you make with abortion-determined women do not last for the long-term, it's still incredibly impactful to be a presence in support of their baby's life and to offer pro-life resources.
For more sidewalk advocacy tips from Edna May, listen to her full podcast interview with Embryo Advocates, released today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
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