Maya’s journey from pro-choice to pro-life advocate, influenced by personal experiences and professional insights, reveals the complexities of the abortion debate.
Summary
This is Jacob Barr, and I recently had a heartfelt conversation on the pro-life Team Podcast with Maya, a former pro-choice advocate who now champions the pro-life cause. Maya shared her journey, starting from her staunch pro-choice stance during her school years, through her experiences in medical school where she witnessed abortions first-hand. This exposure, coupled with her own personal experience of undergoing an abortion, led to a profound change in her beliefs. Maya now actively participates in sidewalk counseling and other pro-life activities, aiming to educate and support others. Her story is a powerful testament to the complexity of the abortion debate and the deep personal experiences that shape our views.
#Hashtags: #ProLifeJourney, #MayasStory, #AbortionDebate, #ProChoiceToProLife, #LifeAffirmingChoices, #SidewalkCounseling, #PersonalTransformation, #PregnancyClinics, #ProLifeAdvocacy, #EmotionalHealing
Transcript
The transcript was automatically generated and may contain errors.
Maya :
Hello everybody welcome to the pro-life Team Podcast my name is Maya, and today we’ll be talking about my story of converting from the pro abortion side to the pro-life side.
Jacob Barr :
So Maya, I’m excited to have you on the pro-life Team Podcast. Would you introduce yourself as if you were talking to a group of pricey clinic leaders or executive directors?
Maya :
Ok, well hello everybody my name is Maya and I am from Tucson, arizona originally from california, but I’ve lived in Tucson for a really long time so I think I consider myself Tucson and now I graduated from Yale in 2008 and then from the University of Arizona with my master’s degree in 2015 and I worked as a GED instructor for about 6 years. But now I’m stay at home mom with my two kids.
Jacob Barr :
Awesome So tell us your story, your story of going maybe from like pro-choice to pro-life or whatever story you might Yeah, we’re looking to share today.
Maya :
Yeah so it’s really interesting because I never actually remember, like when I first learned what an abortion was for some reason, that memory just kind of escapes me i just remember knowing what it was in high school. And so one of my first memories is actually at my Catholic High School because I was raised Catholic and still am Catholic. There was this like informal debate that was had at the school about whether the abortion pill should be legal or not rU four eighty six. And I remember going because I was staunchly pro-choice or pro abortion back then. And so I just wanted to kind of check it out and all I remember, ’cause I was a long time ago i was about 14 back then, I just remember thinking to myself, like men, like, is all these men just like saying, you know, what women can do with their bodies which is interesting at that young age of 14, I’d already absorbed that cultural message. I remember one of my classmates, a man, was at the board and he was talking about how, you know, a sperm and an egg combined and then a new life is formed and I was just thinking, like, it’s not that simple like, it’s so much more complicated than that. And so that’s kind of like my first memory. And at the Catholic High School that I was at, interestingly, there was really no pro-life presence at all, like abortion aside from that informal debate, nobody really ever talked about it. And actually in one of my classes on him, deaf and dying, interestingly, the teacher showed a pro abortion movie called The Cider House Rules i don’t know if you ever heard of that movie with Tobey Maguire, but yeah, there’s a pro abortion plot line at the very end where one of the main characters, she gets an abortion, and it’s viewed as like this very heroic thing. So that and I was out of Catholic High School, but that was fine with me, ’cause like I said, I was pretty pro abortion back then. And so, you know, i didn’t really think anything of it. And then moving to college, there was a pro-life group at Yale actually called Choose Life at Yale and it still exists to this day. And they had a debate as well. And so I went because again, you know, in the spirit of being at a university, i thought it’s important to, you know, engage in debates, see what the other side has to say. And again, that was a long time ago so now in college, I was like 18 back then. And what I really remember most is that the pro-life woman, she was kind of telling her story and she said like 6 months to a year prior to that, she was pregnant and she was at a debate. And she’s like, yeah, you know, I’m going to show those pro-choice advocates here with my pregnant belly. And then she said the pro abortion advocate was pregnant too. And I was like, see, so there we go win for the pro abortion side yet again. So that talk, even though she was like a pro-life debater, she like, made me more pro abortion. And so that was basically it at Yale and then aside from that, interestingly, again, that was like around 2004 to 2008 even at a place like Yale abortion like no one really talked about it too much like, I didn’t really think anything of it. And then when I was in medical school, I kind of left that part out of my bio but I did go to medical school at Mount Sinai School of Medicine for about 3 years, but I ended up dropping out. But during that time, I was like, well, you know, what’s so interesting is I so support abortion so strongly, but I’ve never actually seen one with my own eyes. So if I’m going to be honest and, like, have integrity, I really need to actually see an abortion with my own eyes and So what was interesting about that is on my OBGYN rotation, somehow I found a doctor i’ll never remember what his name is. And I was, yeah, can I, can I shadow you and doing an abortion and you know what this doctor actually said to me? An abortionist he said you don’t need to see us killing babies. I was like, what? An abortionist actually said that, so he wouldn’t even let me shadow him and he actually acknowledged that he was killing babies. I was just shocked i couldn’t believe that because that doesn’t make sense like, as a pro abortion advocate, you obviously don’t say it’s killing babies because that’s not something you want to support. And so, yeah, it was very confusing to me. So I found another Doctor. His name was Doctor. I’m sorry, my son is crying for a little bit let me, let me give him slot i’ll be right back.
Jacob Barr :
Yeah, take your time wow very. I’m very intrigued by your story i’m looking forward to hearing the rest.
Maya :
All right, so then I found another doctor Adam Jacobs, and he was very pro abortion. And so he had no problem letting me shadow him on a 13 week abortion and the baby had Down syndrome. I don’t know, somehow, I guess in the pro abortion mind that kind of makes it sound better. And so I was there when she was in the operating table, and he inserted the vacuum and then I was shocked to find little bones and a liver in the vacuum. I was like, what? Like, you know, as a pro abortion advocate who never seen an abortion before, you don’t think you actually see bones in a liver like, that’s so humanizing, right? Almost as if maybe abortion really does take a human life. So I was totally shocked by that. But I quickly tried to rationalize it away and say, oh, well, you know, it’s just so small the bones are so tiny the liver’s so tiny like, maybe it’s not as bad as I think. And so then I asked doctor Adam Jacobs to see a late term abortion because I knew even on the pro abortion side, most pro abortion advocates strangely, are against or very hesitant to support late term abortion. And so he did the next patient was women with a healthy fetus, 20 weeks. And I know the fetus is healthy because the doctor actually said, he said the fetus doesn’t have any abnormalities. So this is a healthy fetus being aborted 20 weeks and it’s basically as gruesome as everybody says i remember again in the operating room and he was the doctor was with a resident. And so the resident stuck the forceps in the woman’s uterus and pulled out an arm like a dismembered arm. And I was shocked to see that. And then she pulled out the other arm and the legs and the spine and finally she crushed the head and pulled that out last and here there was this baby on the operating table that was totally dismembered and i almost couldn’t believe it so I actually touched that baby’s arm with my own gloved hand because I had to see this was actually real and it was and that baby’s arm was like, pure bone. And then the operating nurse looked at me and she asked what she actually said she’s like, it’s barbaric, isn’t it? And I remember thinking, well, if it’s so barbaric, why are you doing it? Yeah like, it just started to not make sense these narratives were just so confusing to me and so after that experience, sadly, you’d think that would convert me to the pro-life side but it still didn’t. And it’s kind of hard to explain, I guess to people who are, who’ve been pro-life their whole life like you touch this baby dismembered arm with your own hand. How did you still not convert? And I guess I the only way I can kind of explain it is for people who are really into science, which I was since I was in medical school. You can kind of justify it like, oh, this is like a really fascinating, like scientific specimen type thing. Like you can just kind of depersonalize or even dehumanize it in a way where you can try and justify it. Kind of like if you’ve ever seen, well, I guess many people have it but in medical school, there’s a surgery rotation and so when you see a surgery happen on people where like, you know, their guts are taking out of their abdomen and or like a open heart surgery, which I actually saw where they saw your chest open with a bone thaw and it smells and all that stuff like it’s easy to kind of depersonalize and dehumanize it. Like, oh, this is just, you know, this is the medical field this is science. So that’s how I justified it and then didn’t think anything of it. And then I had then, personally, I experienced an unplanned pregnancy about seven years ago and I was a shock because I had an IUD. And so that’s supposedly, you know, 99 7 % effective or whatever they say. And I couldn’t believe I was in the 3 % where it failed that just seemed impossible. And so I was very conflicted and confused because if I had supported abortion so much this whole time, you know, then how could I all of a sudden be conflicted about getting an abortion like, wasn’t this exactly the situation where I said abortion is justified, where you took all the precautions, you did everything right, but yet you still got pregnant anyway? So yet I just, I was just shocked and horrified and dumbfounded i just couldn’t believe what had happened. And so I did end up going through with the abortion and the first, like, the moment after, I felt relieved because many people say that, like, they do feel a release. But then the day after, everything changed and I just felt such despair and horror and just hopelessness and what had happened i just almost couldn’t even process it was just so horrifying to just acknowledge, you know, I had this baby and now the baby’s gone and he’s never coming back and it’s just horrible. And, you know, it still affects me to this day i couldn’t even believe it. And so now I just really want to want to help others and really warn them and tell them the truth because there’s a lot of lies out there. You know, like when it comes to even what a late term abortion is, like, the pro abortion side will lie and say, oh, nobody is being dismembered, but that’s a total lie because I literally saw it with my own eyes i literally touched that baby’s arm. So they’re lying about that and then with post abortion syndrome, they lied about that too and said it doesn’t exist it’s made-up but obviously i had it, still have it, probably will have it for the rest of my life. And then now too, they’re saying, you know, women don’t regret abortion that’s a lie but they’re lying about that. I deeply, deeply regret it and always will till the day I die and so I just, I really want to help others and educate others because the pro abortion side I think does a good job at suppressing the pro-life side. And I didn’t quite realize that, I guess when I was younger, but they the pro abortion side really tries to engage in a lot of like censorship and just narrative control I think is the biggest issue where they just even now, you know, in the articles about abortion, though, some of them won’t even interview the pro-life side at all again and on Twitter, they’ll be all enraged if a mainstream organization even dares talk to 1 Pro Lifer about to get their point of view. And so I’ve been getting the information out and informing as many people as possible is really important.
Jacob Barr :
Wow thank you so much for sharing your story and opening up. So have you experienced healing from your abortion or what’s where are you at with your journey towards finding healing?
Maya :
I just. I mean, you can never fully heal 100 %, but I’m definitely better now than I was in years prior. I did do Rachel’s Vineyard, which is a Catholic healing retreat. And that’s actually a funny story because I remember, you know, growing up going to Catholic churches, you would, you would actually kind of see advertisements for Rachel’s Vineyard now and then. And I was really annoyed by that. So I was like, oh, that’s just perpetuating this false narrative that women regret their abortions when they don’t, you know, like the medical field they said like Port Post abortion syndrome is a myth it’s not real. And then here I ended up using that program years later and there is also a post abortion Bible study that I went to in Tucson and that helped as well. But being involved in the pro-life community I think is the ultimate way to help just because I just have to do something i’ve kind of always been that way we’re just kind of talking about things while it has its place is not enough i need to do more and so I’ve been a sidewalk counselor for a couple years now, and that has really helped me because I can talk to people who’ve been in the same situation that I’ve been and share my story with them. And well, of course, not everybody changes their mind there are people that really do oh, and that’s another narrative that the pro abortion side says nobody changes their mind once the woman decides to have an abortion, she’ll do absolutely anything to have one, which is another lie, because we’ve worked with women who have literally changed their minds. And so I think that’s kind of the best way to heal. But you never heal fully, 100 % i don’t think it’s possible, but you can definitely reach a point where you can accept what happened and always feel sad about it, but also move forward too.
Jacob Barr :
I think your story is powerful and really provides a provides insight into what could help others who may be in the shoes that you had when you were younger. What what’s the. Yeah what would you speak truth to some of the false beliefs that are propagated or promoted by the abortion industry like can you maybe identify some of those false beliefs and then speak truth about them?
Maya :
Well, I think one of the biggest false narratives that they push is that it’s not really killing. And many people who are pro abortion now are used to be currently like myself. I think that is the narrative we buy into, because if it’s truly killing, then there’s no way you can support that, right who could support killing a baby that. Yeah, that’s horrible so that’s, I think one of the biggest narratives they push is that, oh, it’s not really killing it’s terminating a pregnancy or it’s not really a baby, It’s an embryo or a fetus or it doesn’t have a heartbeat, It’s electrical pulsing activity or whatever strange euphemism they use. So I think that’s the biggest narrative that they push. And then another biggest big narrative they push too is that women benefit so greatly from abortion and there’s even this turn away study that’s been published for a couple years now actually, where they claim, you know, the quote, unquote definitive study proving quote, unquote that abortion helps women get out of poverty and pursue their dreams, pursue their career, pursue their education, be free, all this stuff which is, again, I think one of the most horrific egregious lies ever it’s traumatizing and not only that, but even on the pro abortion side, ironically, when they try so hard to push the narrative that abortion is wonderful and abortion is amazing, there’s actually this website called Shout Your Abortion that’s literally what it’s called trying to say, oh, abortion’s great, it’s wonderful. But ironically, on that own website, there will be women who say, I deeply grieve my abortion i’ve been crying for a month straight. I didn’t want the abortion, but my partner pressured me. And so even the pro abortion side can’t hide the cold, hard reality that it really harms women. And for the women who claim that they aren’t harmed or they don’t regret it, they still say things like, well, you know, it had to happen this way and if you say something has to be done, that almost sounds like you’re trying to justify it after the fact, right? Because it didn’t have to happen this way. Like what happened if you had the baby, your life would have just moved on and I think that’s actually another narrative, which isn’t so much the pro abortion side, but culture in general makes it seem like having an unplanned pregnancy is literally the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to you. Ever and that’s also a false narrative too, because while it’s scary and unexpected, you know, pregnancy is a part of life it’s a part of being human. So to say that normal human function is the most worst horrific thing that can ever happen to you is such a false and toxic narrative.
Jacob Barr :
Wow i really yeah i really appreciate again, you just speaking truth to these dark areas and these false beliefs and these. So in your opinion and thoughts, what’s the best way to disarm the you know, this marketing fault, you know these false beliefs that are being promoted as well, essentially just being pushed onto our culture. What’s the best way to respond to these false beliefs i.
Maya :
Think just being a positive presence. So sidewalk counseling I think is one of the easiest and best ways to respond to that because you’re literally talking to women as they’re going into the abortion facility and then also starting Students for Life clubs in schools i think is also important because as I said, my exposure to the pro-life side was in school, right in high school and then in college. So I think that’s like a really good start. In terms of the broader culture, I know it’s really hard because it’s hard to get the message out there, but Live Action does a lot of really great stuff in trying to spread pro-life information, so people should definitely check out all the stuff that they have they have great satire videos, great informational videos, and just sharing those links is also really helpful.
Jacob Barr :
So you and I are both in Arizona and I believe there’s going to be a constitutional amendment on the ballot probably that’s going to try and make abortion legal all the way up until birth.
Maya :
Yeah.
Jacob Barr :
When it comes to pro abortion, we have people who may vote for abortion. Do you think they do you think they really know what abortion really is? Or do you think they have that same misconception that you had when it comes to it being, you know, a terminating their pregnancy or, you know, it not having a heartbeat, but really just being an electrical pulse or? Or maybe they would be OK with abortion at up to a certain stage but not up until, you know, in those final months of pregnancy. What are your thoughts on, you know what the what people in Arizona know about abortion when it comes to what it really is or do you think yeah do you think there’s they’re also they have the false belief of thinking it’s something that it’s not?
Maya :
Yeah, I think most people have. Even on the pro-life side, most people have never seen an abortion ever. And so my experience, ’cause I acknowledge that back when I was pro abortion, I was like, well, I’ve never even seen one with my own eyes so, you know, none of us really know what we’re talking about but at least pro lifers, you know, when they show, when they see pictures or hear people like me describing it, they believe us. But it’s the pro abortion side i’ll say, oh, all those pictures of aborted fetuses are Photoshopped. And then when it comes to actual people in the medical field or even former abortionists who become pro-life they just kind of ignore that they say, oh, it’s propaganda or whatever. And the Guardian even put out this picture. I think it’s a year ago now that said, this is what an abortion really looks like. And so obviously they removed the fetus from the picture and they removed all the blood. So they just put the amniotic SAC out there and was like, oh, this is what an abortion really looks like see, those pro lifers are lying. And so again, I just think it’s about controlling or just trying to breakthrough with the narrative. That’s really it because it’s very rare for any human being, I think, actually, to see an abortion with their own eyes because even if you’re in the medical field, you don’t really come across it that often, ’cause even for me, you know, I had to be on my OBGYN rotation and then I had to find an abortionist that actually let me shadow him, ’cause remember, the first abortionist wouldn’t even let me shadow him. And so it’s really about just keep pushing like, yes, the pro abortion movement will do everything they can to discredit us and say we’re lying and all of that but even, you know, it’s interesting on the pro abortion side, they will actually write some articles saying, you know, this woman or in the first person, I’ll say, yeah, I did the abortion pill and well, I don’t regret it at all they always put that in there. I will admit that it was horrifically painful and I was bleeding all over the floor and I had to go to the emergency room. So I guess that’s what I would say to people who are skeptical of the pro-life claims, then look at the pro abortion side i mean, if you trust the pro abortion side more than you trust us, then trust them when they say the abortion pill is horrific or they, you know, ripped arms and legs off of a late term fetus because the pro abortion side will admit it too.
Jacob Barr :
Wow. So with your, you know, with your journey going from darkness to light, where did you see God’s fingerprints? As you were? You know, where was God at different points in your story?
Maya :
I think those little glimpses of the pro-life narrative breaking through, I think that was God the whole time like starting, you know, back at that informal debate in high school where everyone who spoke was against abortion they were against the abortion pill. And then the choose life at Yale Club, which still exists to this day and then that first abortionist who literally said you don’t need to see us killing babies and he actually looked kind of ashamed at what he’d done he was so ashamed, actually, he wouldn’t even let me shout him so I think that was God’s fingerprints the whole time trying to breakthrough to that narrative and even when I was back at Yale later not this Catholic youth group I went to there was a person with a shirt that said abortion one heart stops, another heart breaks. And so there are these glimpses of the pro-life side trying to breakthrough and those all stuck with me right to this day i’m almost 40 and those incidences are still on my mind. And I also remember to when I was living in New York City, because I lived in a couple different places, I went to Mass and the priest there actually talked about abortion and he made some people really upset and they actually walked out of the Mass and he said, do you see those people they worship Moloch? And again it, you know, wait on me because I didn’t worship Moloch and so I was like confused again, like what’s happening like, you know, this abortion issue keeps coming up and I don’t know what to do so I didn’t. That was it that was that was God just waiting on me the whole time. And you know, watching that late term abortion, that still didn’t change my mind so then God just didn’t give up and it took having an abortion myself to finally breakthrough and see the light.
Jacob Barr :
Wow, So what is something from your story that you think may not be commonly understood or is commonly misunderstood?
Maya :
I think the conflicting emotions and the aftermath of the abortion and also leading up to the abortion too, because it’s framed as a choice but then I didn’t feel really like I had a choice or at the very least, instead of justifying why I would get an abortion, I was trying to find myself justifying why I wouldn’t get one. And so that’s kind of the great irony is you think choices are so great, but sometimes when there’s a quote, unquote, choice you have to justify why you wouldn’t do it, Right because if abortion is legal, and again, if it’s an unplanned pregnancy, why wouldn’t you have an abortion isn’t that literally the whole point of abortion is to address the issue of unplanned pregnancy. And so then you’re trying to justify it, right oh, well, because I don’t want to well, why don’t you want to have an abortion right if it’s not killing anybody, why on earth would you not get one? So philosophically that like that starts to just get confusing and not make any sense and that’s kind of where I was, like I supported abortion so much so then why on earth would I not get one myself? It doesn’t make any sense and if abortion isn’t killing, which I always said it’s not killing, it’s like a potential life but not an actual life, then like why on earth would you be conflicted about that? So I think that’s kind of the problem with quote, unquote, choices is that you don’t really feel like you have a choice because it because a choice starts to become a duty, right instead of saying, oh, it’s your choice, do whatever you want, it’s why wouldn’t you do it? And it’s hard to justify if other philosophical things are in place. And then to the aftermath, too. It just gets so confusing because like the moment after I did feel relief just ’cause I was in such a state of shock and fear and terror that the moment after it’s like, OK, I guess it’s done, it’s over all right phew. But then the day after, it just totally changed into, like, the worst days of day of my life. And so I think that’s really confusing to people, too, that, wait, you felt relief, but then you didn’t feel relief. And then you said this was a choice, But then, like, you didn’t feel like you had a choice. It just, it really messes with your head. And what I find so interesting on the pro abortion side is a lot of women who’ve had abortions but still claim to be pro abortion, they kind of do the same thing they’re like, oh, or similar thing. Like, they’ll say, oh, I don’t regret it, but I was super depressed or, oh, I don’t regret it and no, I wasn’t depressed, but I really had to grieve it like, why on earth did you have to grieve if it wasn’t taking a human life you know, like, it starts to just not make any sense. So I think that’s something that’s hard for people who haven’t had an abortion to understand is like all these conflicting things going on. Or even some people on the pro abortion side will say, well, there’s a difference between an unwanted pregnancy but a versus an unwanted child you cannot want the pregnancy but want the child and you’re like, it’s like it’s just so conflicting it’s because again, like it’s ultimately it is the taking of a human life. But it’s. But you can’t really acknowledge that because it’s so horrible to acknowledge the truth of what happened it’s just like, yeah, it’s just so horrible and so traumatic and people will do anything and everything they can to try and just justify that fact.
Jacob Barr :
Have you experienced greater healing as you continue or you know, as you repeatedly Share your story? Like, what’s that like to Share your story again, you know, after that first time?
Maya :
I think it’s still hard just because it was so traumatic, but I just really hope that I can change hearts and minds like that’s really the ultimate goal is to really encourage and inspire people to join the pro-life movement to really, as I say, make it unthinkable. Because, like I said, you know, once something is a choice, quote, unquote or an, option then, you have then it, then it’s implanted in your mind, basically. And so I want to change that i want people to know, like when you face an unplanned pregnancy, you don’t automatically go the abortion route instead, go to a pregnancy Resource Center, take a breather, don’t freak out and worry just, you know, talk to someone, relax, Know that it’s going to be OK and just changing this cultural narrative that an unplanned pregnancy is, like, literally the absolute worst thing that can happen to you because it’s not it might be surprising it might be a little bit scary, but pregnancy is a normal bodily function, so to be terrified of normal bodily functions is just going to make everybody crazy.
Jacob Barr :
So with you so tell us about the work that you’re doing today. What are your, yeah, what’s your involvement when it comes? You said you mentioned the sidewalk tell us more about what you’re currently involved in.
Maya :
Yeah so sidewalk counseling or sidewalk advocacy as it’s called, is when you stand on public sidewalks in front of the abortion facilities and then offer life affirming resources. So there’s a group here in Tucson, Pro Love Tucson, that does that. And so we train people up and then yeah and then go to the sidewalk and then you offer pamphlets sometimes we offer little necklaces. There’s just a bunch of stuff that we give them, little fetal models and then resources to connect them to pregnancy help centers or adoption or anything they may need.
Jacob Barr :
Awesome what would you like to say if you if you were talking to those who run or promote Rachel’s Vineyard, what would you like to say to them? You know, whether you know good, bad or helpful or just you know, what are your thoughts on Rachel’s Vineyard?
Maya :
Oh, I thought it was really helpful. Really helpful in starting the healing process. Like I said, you never really fully heal, but it helps to get that ball rolling and I just say to them, you know, guys, keep up the good work what you’re doing is great. And I think maybe just advertising more is like the one helpful feedback I can give ’cause as a Catholic, you hear about Rachel’s Vineyard all the time, But for people who aren’t Catholic, I don’t know if they’ve ever heard of it i remember in my post abortion Bible study, a woman was there and she wasn’t Catholic and so the only way she heard about it was she was 500 comments in she said on some article that five hundredth comments, someone had put up a link to Rachel’s Vineyard and that’s how she heard about it.
Jacob Barr :
Wow what would you like to say to your if you could have, if you could speak something to your younger self when you were, you know, when you were at that Catholic High School with that pro abortion attitude, was something that you wish you would have heard back then if you could speak to your younger self?
Maya :
I think hearing more stories about women regretting their abortions would have really helped me because so much of the pro abortion side is to say that, you know, they’re helping women abortion helps women. So if women themselves are saying they’re not being helped, well then the whole narrative collapses, right because we go into this because we want to help women but if women are being devastated and horrified and traumatized, then there’s no way you can support abortion and still claim to help women.
Jacob Barr :
Wow yeah, that’s good. Yeah i think hearing stories are powerful and are amazing at creating change that. Yeah, essentially just knowing how it affects people. So would you share any final thoughts you might have and then maybe close us in prayer with the expectation that those who are listening may join you in prayer as they listen to this podcast?
Maya :
Yeah, Just my final thoughts, I guess for those who are either involved in the pro-life movement or are pro-life but haven’t really done anything is I think it’s important to not give up hope once I first started being involved in the pro-life movement, it became really overwhelming to see all the money and the power and the resources that the pro abortion side has like, I just felt like we as pro lifers, you know, there was no chance we were just going to lose and that would be it but then look what happened roe V Wade was overturned. And look at all these successes the pro-life movement is having. And so I think it’s important to not give up, to have hope and that little things matter sometimes you know, being out on the sidewalk, you know, when all these people either ignore you or they have the abortion anyway, you just feel like, am I? Is what I’m doing worth it is it even helping? But I promise you it is helping because this is a marathon, not a Sprint as everybody always says, it’s going to take decades of a sustained focus and so as long as you just keep our eyes on the prize, which is full protection of human rights from conception, then just know that your work, it really does matter it really does.
Jacob Barr :
That’s good. Well yeah. Would you close this in prayer and just yeah, call out to God and hopefully those who are listening will join you in this.
Maya :
Prayer. Yeah, so I just pray in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Dear God, just please convict hearts and minds to the pro-life cause. Please show people the humanity of pre born children and encourage them in unplanned pregnancies please just tell them that an unplanned pregnancy is not the end of the world it just isn’t pregnancy is a normal part of life there’s so many resources out there to help people and that once the baby is born, you realize that all this worry, it was for nothing. So I just pray for hope and peace and love and encouraging people to give to the pro-life movement any way they can and to just have hope and trust that one day abortion will end and all human beings will be protected from conception amen.
Jacob Barr :
Amen.