Planned Parenthood director steps down after viewing ultrasound of abortion
Posted by The Skyliner on November 18th, 2009Leasy Sandal
Staff Writer
Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson of Bryan, Texas, resigned on Nov. 4 after eight years of helping women end the lives of their unborn children.
Johnson made the decision to resign after witnessing an ultrasound of an abortion for the first time.
“I could actually see it was a 13-week-old baby and I could actually see the side profile of the baby on the ultrasound,” Johnson said.
As Johnson watched the procedure in horror, she witnessed the baby attempting to move away from the probe.
“That was just life changing for me,” she said. “I had never seen that done before.”
The issue of abortion hits close to home for the majority of the North Greenville campus. Charity Yost, senior English, shared why she has a pro-life stance.
“In my hometown, a 16-year-old girl went to a doctor to schedule an abortion,” Yost said. “The doctor convinced her to carry her baby, promising that he would adopt the child. The adopted child was my best friend throughout high school.”
Johnson publically revealed that Planned Parenthood insisted that she convince more women to have abortions, due to the current financial instability of the organization.
The non-profit organization has switched its focus from prevention to pushing for abortions.
“It seemed like maybe that’s not what a lot of people were believing anymore because that’s not where the money was. The money wasn’t in family planning, the money wasn’t in prevention, the money was in abortion and so I had a problem with that,” Johnson said.
Johnson has been attending an Episcopal church recently and states that her decision to leave Planned Parenthood was based largely on her involvement with the church.
“I feel so pure in heart. I don’t have this guilt. I don’t have this burden on me anymore. That’s how I know this conversion was a spiritual conversion,” Johnson said.
Johnson is now an avid supporter for the Coalition of Life, meeting with the pro-life director Shawn Carney and publically praying on the sidewalk with other supporters outside of the Planned Parenthood.
The pro-life supporters were issued a restraining order on Nov. 6, prohibiting them from praying outside of the clinic.
“We regret being forced to turn to the courts to protect the safety and confidentiality of our clients and staff; however, in this instance it is absolutely necessary,” Planned Parenthood said in a statement.
Dr. Thomas Allen, dean of science and mathematics, helped establish the first infertility lab in Kentucky and later moved to Charleston to test out the first test tube baby in the state. After 15 years, Allen changed his mind.
“It got to be so crazy – I didn’t think that’s what God wanted me to do,” Allen said. “God created life. Abortion is wrong. Human life begins at conception.”
Allen’s point of view is widely shared by others in his department.
“Within six weeks all fingers, toes, and eyes are fully functional,” Allen said. “The other eight months, the baby is just getting bigger and better.”
The hearing concluded that Planned Parenthood did not have reasonable grounds to submit such warrants.
Johnson said in an interview after the hearing that she was “pleased with the ruling because it allows me to speak more openly about my time at Planned Parenthood and the circumstances surrounding my departure.”
Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 10