“I can’t tell you how many women would lie on the table, their rosaries in their hands, while they had their abortions,” says Abby Johnson. “Sometimes, women would ask the clinic staff to pray with them before the abortion began.”

As clinic manager of a Planned Parenthood facility in Bryan, Texas, Abby herself had assisted in thousands of abortions. That is, until September 26, 2009, when she was invited to witness an ultrasound abortion for the first time. As Abby watched the screen, the 13-week-old fetus fought against the abortionist’s instruments; and then it was over, and the unborn child crumbled and disappeared into the cannula, the hollow plastic tube attached to the suction machine by a flexible hose.

For the first time, Abby saw abortion for what it was—and she realized she couldn’t continue to do that work. Ten days later, on October 6, 2009, Abby walked out of the Planned Parenthood clinic and was welcomed by pro-lifers. Life had changed.

* * * * *

Johnson shares anecdotes from her own life and from others who have left the abortion industry in The Walls Are Talking: Former Abortion Clinic Workers Tell Their Stories.

Following the success of her best-selling autobiography Unplanned, Johnson’s new book reveals intimate, often heart-wrenching stories from inside the abortion provider’s surgery rooms. She throws open the window to expose the personal tragedies of the pregnant women who find themselves in Planned Parenthood’s waiting room, and exposes the callous disregard with which some clinic staff regard their patients.

The Walls Are Talking includes chapters by anonymous contributors who have left the abortion industry, including:

• the story of the clinic worker who gave advice to a pimp regarding how to get around the law when seeking treatment for his prostitutes, some of whom were minors;
• the story of a clinic worker who was convicted of her sin and converted to pro-life advocacy when she held her own infant daughter in her arms;
• the pregnant clinic worker who struggled through morning sickness and listened to her co-workers’ crude jokes, as she helped to end the lives of other women’s children;
• and more, 17 stories in all.

I talked with Abby by phone a few weeks ago. What, I wanted to know, was the most moving story in the book — the one which had special meaning for her? Abby thought for a moment, then recalled a chapter titled “Teddy Bear.” In it, a former clinic worker described a young teen with mental deficiencies who’d been brought to the clinic by her father. The girl was pregnant because of an abuse by her stepbrother, who was in jail for the assault. Although the girl was sixteen years old, she had the mental capacity of a six-year-old — and she came into the clinic clutching a teddy bear.

To the surprise of the staff, the abortionist was particularly gentle with this vulnerable young girl. When an ultrasound proved that she was 16 weeks pregnant, not just 12 weeks as her parents had thought, they realized that the abuse had occurred not just once, but had been going on for a much longer period of time. In that rare circumstance, the abortion doctor counseled the family against aborting the child. “I could do the abortion in my office,” he said, “but I really don’t think that’s best. I really think you guys need to consider adoption.” The doctor who had always pushed the staff to “sell, sell, sell abortion” showed a different side, being very tender with this young girl.

Abby believed that the story proved that no one – not even the most hard-hearted of abortion proponents – is beyond hope. “Everyone,” Abby insisted, “is just one breath away from conversion.” Despite the gallows humor that is the hallmark of the abortion business, there is good in everyone – even those who work in the abortion industry.

And who should read The Walls Are Talking? Abby hopes that many will open its pages and be moved by the stories contained therein.

“To be quite honest,” she admits,

“I hope that people who support abortion will pick it up, intending to read it as a critic. I hope that their minds will be opened, their eyes will be opened.

“And I hope that those in the Church will also read it. They’ve heard the message, but what are they doing with it? I hope that those in the church will read it and think, “Oh my gosh!” Because it’s not enough to sit on the sidelines, to sit at home and pray. If your prayer doesn’t move you to action, then I don’t think you have a very serious faith.

“We’ve been wading through the weeds of this movement for 43 years; and that’s because so many in the church have been apathetic. Priests and pastors think that everyone already knows abortion is wrong, so they don’t address it from the pulpit; but out in the pews, a majority of Catholic women are contracepting. So perhaps those in the church are our target audience. You think we shouldn’t be preaching to the choir? Now’s the time to teach the choir how to sing!”

A Word to Priests

Abby offered some advice to priests, too, who sometimes take it for granted that their parishioners already know about the evil of abortion, and so miss the opportunity to speak about it from the pulpit. She remembered two women, employees at her own Planned Parenthood facility, who were Mass-attending, Eucharist-receiving Catholics and yet who supported abortion.

“Priests have a unique opportunity,” Abby said. “They celebrate Mass every day. In the Prayers of the Faithful, they can include a prayer for an end to abortion. Every day in the Prayers of the Faithful, there is an opportunity to pray for respect for life, from conception to natural death.”

But please, Abby urged, give a homily on abortion occasionally – and more than once a year! We have a problem in our Church: We have sinners in our Church! We need to reach out to them, not just to instruct “Thou shalt not sin,” but also to offer a message of healing and grace.

Lastly, Abby talked of the confessional, where a priest can counsel a post-abortive woman or a woman working in the abortion industry. It’s important, Abby noted, to have information and resources available for these women.

Get the Book!

You can order a copy of The Walls Are Talking for yourself or a friend by clicking here. And you can learn more about Abby Johnson’s organization, which helps former abortion workers, at abortionworker.com.