Speaker has change of heart about abortion

KENNEWICK -- There was a time when Abby Johnson, 29, loved her job as the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas.

But that all changed when she was asked to participate in an abortion procedure last year.

She described it in an interview with ABC News Health last fall: "My job during the procedure was to hold the (ultrasound) probe on the woman's abdomen. I could see the whole profile of the baby ... 13 weeks head to foot. I could see the whole side profile. I could see the probe. I could see the baby try to move away from the probe."

The horror of that experience caused an epiphany in her life, she said. When the procedure was done, she glanced out the window and noticed two women praying in peaceful protest of the abortion clinic.

It was then she decided that's where she'd rather be. A couple of weeks later she resigned and joined the Coalition for Life.

Johnson was in the Tri-Cities over the weekend as a guest speaker at the annual It's About Life conference held at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Kennewick.

Though she is a pro-life advocate, she told the Herald her involvement with the pro-life movement is as a resource only.

"I'm not here to judge anyone," Johnson said. If she is adamant about one thing it is the importance of making educated decisions about the sanctity of life.

"Planned Parenthood clinics don't provide women who come to the clinic with all the information and choices they should be given," she said. "I'm not guessing about that. I know it because I worked within that organization for eight years."

Other guest speakers at the conference, which was sponsored by the Lourdes Health Network and Knights of Columbus organization, were Janet E. Smith, a professor of moral theology at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Mich.; the Rev. Matthew Habiger, a Catholic priest from Oklahoma who holds a doctorate in moral theology from the Catholic University of America; and Elma De Leon, a Tri-City physician who also completed training at the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction.

The ecumenical pro-life event also featured several information booths on childbirth education: The Safe Place for Newborns of Washington, which was manned Saturday by Kay Langerin, a registered nurse at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland; Lourdes Fertility Care Center, which provides a wide range of solutions for women on topics from unwanted pregnancies to infertility.

"There are so many people who are still unaware of the Newborn Infant Safety Act, which was enacted in 2002," Langerin said.

The law gives a parent who might otherwise abandon their newborn the option to instead leave the unharmed baby with any employee of a hospital or staffed fire station within 72 hours of giving birth.

"No questions asked or threat of prosecution too," Langerin added. For more information about the Newborn Infant Safety Act, call 425-486-8456 or go to www.safeplacefornewborns.org.

For more information about Lourdes Fertility Care Center, go to fertilitycare.org or call 542-3036.

It's About Life conference has been held at St. Joseph's for six years. There were about 300 people at this year's conference. Past guest speakers have included Norma McCorvey, who was at the heart of the infamous Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, which is what triggered the legalization of abortions in 1973 and is at the heart of what the pro-life movement is trying to change.

-- Dori O'Neal: 582-1514; doneal@tricityherald.com