June 10-13, 2004
We have returned from St Louis where ORW co-sponsored the Vision for Victory pro-life outreach with Angela and Daniel Michael of Small Victories. We were blessed to see God work so powerfully.
Braving hot and humid weather conditions, pro-lifers from across the nation gathered to save lives and help women at the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City, IL, just across the Mississippi from St. Louis. On an average day, approximately 45 women are scheduled for abortion appointments at the mill owned by Californian Hector Zavalos and operated by troubled abortionist Yogendra Shaw. Shaw has been involved in three wrongful death suits and numerous other problems with the state’s medical board.
UPDATED WITH MORE PHOTOS
Abortion mill personnel indicated to callers on Thursday that they had a full schedule of appointments for Friday and Saturday. Then we saw God go to work!
On Friday, rescuers observed only 15 women enter the mill for abortions. There were two women who changed their minds and decided to save their babies, including one new mother carrying twins.
Then on Saturday, rescuers arrived to find that the abortion mill was closed for the day for the first time in two years! Clinic manager Sally Burgess indicated to reporters that the clinic was forced to close because their nurse, who is required by Illinois law to be on duty, decided not to show up for work.
Rescuers also picketed the private practice office of abortionist Yogendra Shaw, causing quite a stir in the neighborhood. Police were summoned by office workers to enforce an injunction against certain pro-lifers that banned signs at the site, only to be forced to back down after a judge issued a ruling via telephone on the scene that the preliminary injunction was part of a case that had been thrown out of court, and therefore was no longer enforceable.
Nightly rallies were held at the Church of St. Louis located in a historic section of the city near the famous Gateway Arch. Featured speakers included Pastor Ed Martin of Rescue America, Pastor Clenard Childress of LEARN, Gregg Cunningham of the Center for Bioethical Reform, and Troy Newman of Operation Rescue West. In keeping with the event theme, Vision for Victory, testimonies of closed abortion mills were given nightly by Cheryl Sullenger of ORW and the Heartland Life Network, who has seen 18 abortion mills close and over 40 abortionists quit killing during 20 years of ministry in the San Diego area.
During the opening rally, Angela Michael was honored for her tremendous work in the St. Louis area where she hosts a pro-life radio show and regularly ministers at the abortion mills. Since 2002, there have been over 950 babies saved through her sidewalk counseling ministry.
