Members from churches around Bakersfield have organize0d six 40 Days for Life campaigns over the past three years through Life Savers Ministry. Terri Palmquist helps run the vigil in front of the Family Planning abortion clinic on 25th and H Street where they have camped out 24 hours a day since Sept. 22 and will end Oct. 31.?
Palmquist said she is committed to praying for the end of abortion.
“We know that abortion takes the life of a baby, but it also injures the woman for the rest of her life,” she said. “They say a woman chooses abortion the same way an animal that is caught in a trap will choose to chew its own leg off.
“So our goal is say ‘You know what, it’s going to hurt but we want to open up that trap and heal that leg so you don’t have to chew it off.’ Prayer is a powerful thing. On our own we can’t do anything, but God is the one who will provide.”
According to Palmquist, the abortion rate during the campaigns at Family Planning, which is the only abortion clinic within 100 miles, has been cut in half. Several local staff members have quit the clinic as well.
The 21st day of the campaign was dedicated to two young mothers who chose not to have an abortion after visiting the clinic.
Caroline Vaughn was only seven weeks pregnant when she arrived for her ultra sound.
“I went in, and there was a little girl outside on the stairs. She told me, ‘It’s a girl.’ I was like, ‘How do you know that?’ And she said, ‘I just know.’ I went in and found out they were twins.
“I called my mom and said I couldn’t do it, there’s two of them. So I walked out and the little girl said, ‘God doesn’t want the baby to go goodbye.’ And that’s why I decided to keep the babies, mainly because of the little girl,” said Vaughn.
While Vaughn was upset and waiting for a ride, Palmquist comforted her and told her that they would help her through her decision.
Vaughn is now seven months pregnant and is expecting to give birth to two baby girls.
Besides prayer, Life Savers Ministries gives out free pregnancy tests, support systems for expecting mothers and referrals to counselors for those who choose abortion.
Supporters of 40 Days for Life believe that the power of prayer will help end abortion. According to the 40 Days for Life Bakersfield Web site, their aim is to, “Peacefully, prayerfully and lawfully stand up for the unborn who cannot stand up for themselves.”
A Bakersfield College student, who did not want her name used, believes the protesting “Life Savers” are anything but peaceful.
She said, “When I arrived at the clinic I was scared. There was a lady standing outside who told me it wasn’t going to make me un-pregnant, just the mother of a dead child. Then my mom buried my face in her jacket but I could still hear the protester screaming, ‘You’re going to Hell!’ and calling me a murderer. I even had earplugs in and could still hear her.
“That was the hardest decision of my life, and I still carry it with me today, almost three years later. That lady knew nothing about me or my situation, and it’s already hard enough without some stranger yelling at you.”
She also said that it wasn’t until after she left the clinic that the protesters began showing mercy as they followed her to her car while holding crosses.