“You’re in the wrong town”. Such was one of the shout outs
from passers by as we did our fifth Silent No More in the middle of midtown Manhattan on 6th Avenue and 49th Street on September 18th.
Thanks to the hard work of our coordinator, Colleen Barry, and
Janet Morano of Priests for Life, we once again managed to bring our message
into the streets of Manhattan to
literally hundreds of ears in a short span of time.
I have been involved in Silent No More from its beginnings
and have participated before the Supreme Court after the January, March for
Life in Washington, DC.
I have been doing post abortion work for
over fifteen years, and have given my witness at countless venues; churches,
schools, college campuses, you name it. But no matter how many places I have
spoken, or how much hostility has come my way, witnessing on the streets of
Manhattan,
the capital of the world, is always a unique experience.
Days before we venture out, I find myself thinking of a
million excuses as to why I can not go. Gitters never fail to form in my
stomach the morning of the event, and as I have told many people I know, I
actually have to do violence to myself to get there.
There is something about standing on the streets of New
York City in the middle of a lunch hour with literally
hundreds and hundreds of people walking by, while holding a sign that says “I
Regret My Abortion”. In a town where people are rushing around and everyone seems
to be a stranger, many stop, as we grab their attention and share our most
intimate sin. People look in shock, some nodding their heads as we speak of our
sorrow and thanking us, others tell us to “shut up” or “mind your own business.”
I have heard people make phone calls telling others, “You are not going to
believe what is going on down here”, and I have seen those shedding a tear
because we remind them of their own abortion pain or the pain of someone they
love.
It is both intense and humbling.
I may never figure out why exactly it is that I hate doing
Silent No More in New York so
much, but it really does not matter. All that matters is that I continue to go
in spite of myself so the message gets out there that abortion hurts women and
men, that God heals, and there is hope and healing after abortion.
In my opinion New York
City is just the “right town” to do this.
Theresa
