SPEAKER_05 0:31

This is only the beginning, even though we're spinning out of control. This is only the beginning, even though it feels just like the end. Everything seems wrong now, but somehow beautiful. We once knew where we're going out on now. This is only the beginning. Get on the skinny out of control. This is only the beginning. It is just like it. But our life has only started to begin. A no seems like it's often up to bed. But our life has solely started to begin.

SPEAKER_06 3:25

Astrid, well, today we're going to be talking about the live-action videos that your Prince Clinic uses. Would you tell us a little bit about your backstory and then we'll dive into how this all started and how and how you're using them?

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Thank you so much for having me on. Jacob, I'm from Los Angeles, California. My mother is from Mexico. My father was raised in El Salvador. And I was called by God to serve in a community in Los Angeles that has been historically disproportionately targeted for abortion. There are multiple abortion businesses in this area that's predominantly Hispanic. Many low-income Hispanic families in California are targeted by the abortion industry because of their circumstances, their vulnerable, and the lack of information. So I became a volunteer of Los Angeles Pregnancy Services during the time of my faith journey as I got, I became closer to God and wanted to serve Him with my life. I found this project, Los Angeles Pregnancy Services, that was proposing to help mothers who are facing a difficult pregnancy to choose life in this very vulnerable neighborhood, which by the way was a neighborhood where I was raised. So it was so meaningful for me to see the map. And then, but I was shocked to see all those abortion centers. So back in 2000, I became a volunteer. And then six years later, God called me to the special calling of being a director of a pregnancy center. So I'm in my 20th year as a director. So you know how it is, Jacob, as we you know progress in in this work, we learn definitely from people like incredible people from Heartbeat International, Sister Paula, may she rest in peace, her group, International Life Services, which started our our center. But we also learn from the people that we serve. They teach us what they need, what information is missing, what do they need practically speaking, medically speaking? And that is how we discovered about 20 years ago, through a volunteer, that it was important that we show mothers or at least invite them. I I should clarify, we invite them to see what the abortion procedure entails. We had a volunteer that during her training, she was going through our library and she came upon some videos that depicted what abortion truly was. And she chose to watch it and she said, you know, if I'd seen this video, I probably would not have had the abortions that I had. And she's a Hispanic woman raised in Mexico. And that was really interesting. And we began to offer it to the mothers that we saw within the relationship. So we we receive them with love, we we speak with them, listen to them. And within that component of the education, you know, we ask, How much do you know about abortion? What do you know about abortion? And we offer for them to see the abortion video. And we have found, Jacob, that it it has been one of the most powerful things that we could do for a mother is allow her to see the reality, something that could affect her for the rest of her life. She has the right to have completely informed consent about what's going to happen to her and her child.

SPEAKER_06 6:40

So tell us more about the ways in which someone might watch this live action video.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Mm-hmm. So live action has produced an incredible series called Abortion Procedures. The first series was uh with Dr. Levitino, and he's explaining as someone who a physician who did abortions before, now he is with us, he's pro-life. He explained what the abortion procedure entailed with animated images, and also he explained what the risks were to the mother. And so this is a short video, five minutes long, and it explains chemical abortions, first trimester, second trimester, and you know, late-term abortions. What we do is we we invite the mothers to um, well, first of all, we receive them with love, we we talk with them, and then when we get to the part where we're educating on abortion, we invite them to watch this video. Now, this is done with prudence, sensitivity. We use a consent form, a very simple paragraph with regular font that explains that this video does contain the depiction of aborted fetuses. This is very clear in the consent form in English or Spanish, in their language. They sign it, that goes in their file. Now they know that they can begin to watch it at any point if they do not want to continue to watch it. They do not have to. We're there to serve them, we're there to educate. And information, Jacob, is not coercion. The truth is not coercion, and the mothers have taught us that. They they are grateful. Now it's very moving. When they watch the video, you do see sometimes some tears, but they're like there are those tears that show that their heart, something's happening in their heart, the Holy Spirit is doing something, and we're there with them. They know they can turn it off if they want to, but they're finding that they're the they they they tell us the blinders are coming off. Like they didn't know this is what they were gonna do. Now, they do also have an ultrasound with a local physician. So we do outsource our medical, so we do offer that. It's really important. But many of the mothers we see, they all have already seen an ultrasound. They probably have other children. That isn't new information, but it is the uh abortion procedure that many people overwhelmingly have not seen. Hosea 4.6 says, My people perish for lack of knowledge. And that is so true. The abortion industry is largely being fed by the fact that people are not informed and that they are actively keeping that information from them, the ultrasounds, what the abortion procedure truly entails. Uh, and so these videos can be found on the website, whatisabortion.com, that live action produced. You could also find them on their YouTube channel, Abortion Procedures. And now, Jacob, they have created a new series with female OBGYNs, uh, physicians who used to do abortions, but now are pro-life. And these female physicians are explaining all the abortion procedures. And now they've they've used AI to dub them into Spanish. So the physician is speaking and it looks like they're speaking Spanish. So instead of having them dubbed or having the subtitles, they're actually looks it looks very natural. So these are wonderfully powerful videos. We we have found that they're helpful. The mothers tell us so. Now, when the mother comes back to our center with their child, and and we see women overwhelmingly that are considering abortion, they have one problem or another, financial, medical, a relationship that isn't healthy. So they are thinking of abortion as an option. We we we we talk to them. So when they choose life, and many do choose life, when they come back with their child, they're so happy and they're praising God and they're radiant, so beautiful. We do have a moment to uh interview them. So we have something that we call a postpartum interview. It's basically after they come back with their baby. We have baby items for them, we listen to them, and we have them fill out a questionnaire. We want to know, even though they've already told us in their first, their first intake form when they first came to our center. We want to know again, what how first of all, how'd you find us? We always want to ask that question: what's working in the marketing department? Um, internet continues to be the number one way that they find us, but also sidewalk counseling, word of mouth, many different ways. And then the most important question What did we do that helped you to change your mind? You were considering abortion as a viable option. What did we do that that changed your mind? And since 2011, we began to make do these formal interviews. And the top two answers, Jacob, almost invariably, it's rare when we get another answer. The top two answers, number one, the kindness of the person who saw me. She was so kind and loving and heard me. And she was the first person to say that my baby was a blessing. I mean, these have these beautiful words to say for the person who helped them. Sometimes they call them my angel. She's the my my my baby's angel. Um, so they're very grateful for the kindness and the fact that we're walking with them through everything. And then they say the video. The video. The video helped me understand exactly what I was considering. I had no idea. I was being told my baby wasn't even formed. I was being told it was just black tissues, not a big deal. When I saw that, I understood exactly what it was, and I was grateful that I got had a chance to see it. So almost 9,000 children have been saved at our center in these years that we've been open. And that's that video has been a tremendous asset, a tremendous blessing for these mothers. They're the ones who tell us, thank you for showing me the truth.

SPEAKER_06 12:15

Wow. So so you so you're showing these to abortion-minded women or clients. And and then, so where do they watch the video? Do they sometimes do you ever send the link to them on their phone so they can watch it from remotely from home? Or or do they usually like, you know, watch it there at your clinic in a certain area?

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Great question. So we have traditionally shown it in our counseling room. So we want to be very prudent and sensitive where we want to receive her in privacy. So we're in the counseling room, and we invite her during the conversation to watch the video as part of the education. It's not the main thing, it's part of everything that we're doing for her to listen to her and educator and inform her and extend help. They watch it on a TV screen. So we have a smart TV and where we upload the latest abortion procedure videos because um, as I mentioned, live action updates their videos. And you know, she has the control, she's able to watch, and she signs that consent form and she watches it. And we stay in the room with her and we're there with her as we as we um facilitate this information. Now, as you are very, you're you're you're an expert on the on the outreach to mothers, especially online. Our work is changing, and we have to adapt to the fact that a lot of our counseling is going to be done through text, through, through chatbots, through online. Now, mothers aren't coming in. They're getting their abortion pills through the mail, so they're not coming into physical places often. So we have sent these videos also using the consent. They have to consent to it, and we facilitate these videos. Now, live action has other videos as well, the the beautiful baby Olivia, baby Oliver, which is also beautiful to use to educate on the humanity of the baby in the development. But this abortion video, I say, is very important that we use it for these crisis pregnancies. I say we use it all the time to educate the people of God, you know, because an image you don't forget. It inoculates you from the from the lies. So, yes, we do also send it by online. Now, back in the day, you remember, Jacob, we used to have DVDs. So we had the situation where the mother where the mothers were receiving counseling, saw the video, they were so impacted by it, they said, I need that video. I need to show it to my husband. I need to show it to my my relatives because they're also confused, thinking that this is a good idea. So we had video, but DVDs that they would take home with them to educate their their friends and family. And one woman shared once with this is powerful, very, very uh it just informed so much how the importance of this video. She said that she took that video home to educate others, but she ended up w watching and re-watching it herself because she continued to feel tempted by something that she knew was contrary to her values. The problems continued to, you know, to assail her. But you know, we were there for her. And she said this video continued to help just keep her seeing the truth, the truth that abortion was just not something that she wanted to do to, you know, basically you see the destruction of a child, something, an act of violence. So that's why this video is is so important. And now that we have links that we can easily send by text, it makes it easier to disseminate this information. But always we want to emphasize uh doing it with prudence and you know, being being uh delicate with it, getting consent, um, being tender um with the person that we're talking to. But I would say do not do not be coy about the truth, you know. Don't assume that she can't handle it. Ask her. Do you want to see it? Because many women have said that it helps them. You know, something interesting too, Jacob. We use this video when we inform churches. So we do presentations on abortion with Hispanic audiences, especially. They expect to see a video that depicts abortion. It's almost like obvious, of course, the talks on abortion, we're gonna see it. It's like saying, I'm gonna talk about the Holocaust, and I'm not gonna show the images of the emaciated, tortured, you know, victims of the Holocaust. I'm gonna show the video. So Hispanic people do uh expect it and they're quite comfortable with it. I don't I can't even remember the last time we ever had pushback from anyone, any member of an audience. And one powerful testimony that I hear over and over are women and men that choose to see it because we also prepare the audience about what they're about to see. They can choose to close their eyes or leave the room. They say, I've been struggling with anxiety and depression for so many years. And after seeing this video, I think I know why. It's that abortion I had 20 years ago. And so then that's an invitation for the healing. The the video is not the healing, the video is just telling them what happened, and then they can seek healing, you know, and and some wounds only Jesus can heal. And so thank God we have these wonderful ministries like Rachel's Vineyard that can that can help someone. Men, men or women or or even grandchildren. I'm sorry, grandparents of these children to to to heal. So uh this is how we how we handle it. We we try to do it as much as possible with the person, with sensitivity, with consent, and also with conviction that it is something good, it is salutary, um, and that it does save lives.

SPEAKER_06 17:42

Wow. So what was it like when you first started using it and what changes have you made over the years as you've used it over sounds like 15 years, right? Is that what you said?

SPEAKER_00 17:55

20 years. We didn't always use it. Okay. We didn't always use it. We were taught to do uh the peer counseling in a certain model. So we we uh we were we were just uh counseling the people that we that came to us. What I noticed, Jacob, was that when abortion remains an abstraction, you just don't understand you you're you just keep going in circles. So we were in the counseling and the woman had all these problems, and so we're offering help. But you know, abortion is such an e-I'm being told it's legal and it's there and it's in California. Many times it's free. You know, our Medicaid pays for abortion. So it just it seems so enticing. And so it felt like we were just often just going in circles, and and and it was difficult to convey truly what abortion was until we had that chance to to learn from that volunteer who told us that uh the video is would have been powerful for her. And then we we we began to use it now. It wasn't a natural process because it's not used, as you might be aware by pregnancy centers in America. But we joined in 2012 the network of pregnancy centers in Latin America, thousands of centers serving in Latin America by the grace of God with them. It is absolutely obvious that we they we're gonna use it. They use it and it's like they can they don't understand why we don't use it in in America. For them, it's of course we offer this information, it's the truth. They also do ultrasounds, they do everything that we do, but this is a component that they find essential in educating. Now, there might be different sensibilities. I understand culturally, if you walk into a Catholic church in in Latin America, typically you're gonna see a very baroque uh crucifix, you know, very, very bloody because that's a very accurate depiction of what happened to our Lord, you know, what we did to our Lord. So when we're talking about abortion, they're okay with seeing exactly what it is. So it's a different sensibility. But I have been in in in groups with people of other ethnic groups, you know, white, black. And when I say, you know, Hispanics are okay with it, it's okay for Hispanics, they say, wait a minute, I think we would like to also be offered the truth. I think we also maybe we wouldn't have had an abortion if if if I we had chance had a chance to see that video. So that that's that's something that we we found that we we're just too shy. And we I think sometimes we're scared of being, well, first of all, we don't want to hurt the person, of course not. We would never want to hurt the person that we're we're serving. And also I think we give into the how easily it can be criticized by the other side. But it's just not something that we're doing to coerce, we're doing it to serve, and we do it within a relationship, and we do it within the counseling, and we do it freely. She can opt not to not to use it, but we find that women are curious about something that can change their life profoundly, and they deserve to know the truth.

SPEAKER_06 20:58

So this podcast is primarily for pregnancy clinic directors and pregnancy clinic leaders, and for a pregnancy clinic who hasn't considered using this video in their in their tool belt before, how would you recommend they they review or consider how to weave it in into their, you know, into the tools that they have available to help someone who is at risk of choosing abortion?

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Sure. Every pregnancy center has their protocol for their consultations. You know, when the mother first arrives, they go into a room and they have a conversation because we want to know what's troubling her. How can we help her? What does she know about the uh child in her womb or about her options? You know, there's abortion is legally an option, but there's these life-giving options as well. So as we're educating, I know we have these wonderful brochures that we use, non-medical centers. We use these brochures that show what what an abortion is and we we read it. Within that component, you could also say, and many women have found valuable to actually see a professional depiction by a physician of what an abortion entails is a short video. Would you like to see it? It's you it's your right to know what it looks like. And then if they say yes, I I would like to see it, we uh have a consent form that we could have them fill out. I'm happy to provide. That consent form to it that we use to anyone that would like to um to to to see it, you know, to see what what that what that sounds like. You know, they can find me on Facebook, Astrid Ben and Dorduño. I'm happy to send it over. And then watch these videos before you discount them. They're very professionally done. And again, we're serving the mother. And and if she does not want to see it, she finds it unappealing, we don't force her. But you're gonna be surprised at how many women, for sure, Hispanics, Jacob. I would say if you're serving Hispanic women, you are missing the mark. If you're not helping them to see it, we have been duped, we have been lied to, we don't have the information. Abortion is a relatively new thing in Latin America. There's a lot of lack of information. I would say definitely consider it if consider it if you're serving a large Hispanic demographic, but if but if if you're just open to just educating, you know, Ephesians 5.11 says, have nothing to do with the fruitless works of darkness, but rather expose them. And that's exactly what you're doing, is you is you're bringing out the light to something that's that's that's evil. And you know, I would say true mercy is the truth, Jacob. I think when we withhold information that could make a difference, I think that's not mercy. You know, we we we need to help people understand it can be done very sensitively. And we've been doing it for 20 years, you know. We've seen thousands of women, we've offered them the video. Do all of them want to see it? Sometimes they don't. Sometimes and many, but many do. And and and we have found through through our journey with them that it has helped them. We haven't had a mother complain that I can recall. I think that they overwhelmingly, you know, want to see it, want to be educated. Uh, and then they come back and then they confirm. You know, that moment where I saw that, it made the difference. And they're holding their child, Jacob, and they're glowing and they're grateful. I say, Lord, thank you for these tools and thank you for live action, for um believing in the power of these tools. You see their videos where they go out to the marketplace of ideas in, you know, in this those busy street corners and invite young people to watch these videos, how impactful it is for them. They're pro-choice, and then they watch this video and then they're not sure of their position, or they immediately become convicted. And that's very familiar to us because our mothers come into our center confused, anxious, thinking of their problems, and then that easy solution that's right there. And we say, give us a chance. We're gonna explain to you your options. There's beautiful options, there's life, there's adoption or parenting, and we're gonna help you. We're gonna walk with you that we take that time to educate. But my goodness, has that been a key? Having that video at our disposal to educate. So I would say explore and watch, go on whatisabortion.com, check out those videos, and then you can get the individual individual links on live actions site. They have a playlist called Abortion Procedures, all the different procedures, you have English and Spanish, upload them to your smart TV, have them on there, have your consent forms. I would also remember to have the remote near your client so she can turn it off if she'd like. You know, we're the word empower, I don't like it too much, but it comes to mind and it it is. We're give we're equipping her. We're equipping her with this information. We're she's in the driver's seat as she's making this decision and we're facilitating the truth. And that's a tremendous blessing. I say pray about it, explore it. And if anybody wants more information, just call me. I'm happy to to to speak with anyone of our experience. Visit us if you're in LA. We'd love to to to meet you and and um and just don't don't don't shy away from it. It's the I would say at our center, we can't conceive doing the work that we do without that video. And we have everything else at our disposal. We have medical resources, we have a physician that we work with down the street. We we provide financial help, we provide all the baby items, so many things. But I'm just constantly surprised and moved and grateful when a mother tells us it's that chance when I saw the video that made all the difference and it just makes sense to me.

SPEAKER_06 27:06

Wow, that makes so much sense. And and so, you know, so for those who are a pregnancy center who provide referrals to ultrasound, this is a powerful tool. How do you see this being a powerful tool for pregnancy clinics who provide ultrasounds in-house? Uh, obviously, this provides some information that goes beyond what someone will see in a regular, real, live ultrasound because of the animation and the messaging. But can you talk about how this really complements you know that ultrasound experience when it comes to what you know what is being communicated?

SPEAKER_00 27:43

I mean, I can't imagine a more powerful way to explain what the abortion procedure is and showing it. And these videos, they are produced with physicians. So they are medical people explaining the abortion procedure. That is powerful. What more can you ask for? So I think it's perfectly uh acceptable and appropriate for a clinic to use them. Now in Latin America, almost all the centers have ultrasound and they have that powerful window to the womb, but they can't conceive their work without also having a chance to show what the procedure that you are considering entails. And these are not exaggerations. These are, you know, you look at the you look at the child in development and you look at what the abortion procedure video depicts, it makes sense. That's what happens in an abortion. That's not a mystery to the abortion industry. It's just that they want to keep it hidden. That's the power that they have. So I think if these videos are done in a very professional, accurate way. I would say, of course, show them to your medical, you know, supervisor at your clinic. Share this video with them. Call me if you'd like. I'm happy to share what we do we're doing here. But I I don't see why a clinic wouldn't use it. Uh, and I definitely would say consider especially your Hispanic clients. We are we see 80% Hispanic clients, but we see other races as well. And we've shared the video with them, and it's been it's been helpful with them as well. But I would say if you if you're afraid to start, I would definitely consider sharing it with your your his Hispanic clients. Um, and and I I hope you have take a chance to take a look at those videos, what is abortion.com and also live actions playlist, abortion procedures. And yes, don't don't don't be afraid to share just what is the truth. It's just the truth, and that's the the lies or what's feeding the abortion industry. It's the greatest act of mercy you can give to a mother considering abortion is letting her letting her see the truth.

SPEAKER_06 29:45

Oh, that's that's good. Do you happen to have one of those consent forms handy? I'm wondering if we could just read what the consent form, you know, that that the paragraph that's on the consent form.

SPEAKER_00 29:56

Uh I I do not have it here handy with me. It's very it's two or three sentences. I wish I had brought it with her. But it's it's two or three sentences, and basically what it's saying is I'll I'll tell I'll paraphrase it so you know what what and and you know, a legal person from your board or advice or advisory board can uh can can can uh write it for you. Basically, it says I am aware that the video that I'm about to watch, abort live action abortion procedures, depicts the images of the abortion procedure, and specifically it it shows aborted fetuses. I am consenting to watch this video, and then they some basically it's two or three sentences, regular font, and then they sign and they date it, and that goes in their file. Basically, what we want we want is them for them to say, yes, I am agreeing to watch this video because I want to know about the abortion procedure. And I'm aware that it has images of abortive fetuses. It's not it's it's animation, so it's not something bloody, it's not something where it shows the actual baby, it's actually it's animated, but I think it's it's it's very powerful as well. So just as long as they know that, I think that's what's important.

SPEAKER_06 31:07

So what audiences do you think would you know with this video be a helpful tool? So the client, uh, what about you know sharing with pastors, churches, supporters, um, and other audiences that you know maybe this may be helpful to show you know what we're fighting to stop or working to intercede?

SPEAKER_00 31:31

Great question. Uh but I want to mention something you just brought to mind is that you know that and at the pregnancy centers, we also speak to the fathers. We also speak to the fathers if we have a chance. And often he comes, you know, at the abortion center, he's left outside, right? He wants the further away he can be from her, it's better. They separate families. We want him to be, if possible, educated as well. What that video does to the heart of a father who is what who is a who is a person of goodwill is incredible, Jacob. They understand what abortion is and they have this instinct. God put in your heart an instinct to protect. So when they see that violence being depicted, it awakens something in in many of the fathers that we we help. And so that video is powerful for the fathers. I just want to mention that as well.

SPEAKER_06 32:21

But you normally you do you have the fat the mother and the father watch it together or or sometimes?

SPEAKER_00 32:27

No, no. Well, first of all, I think it's a regular pro uh the standard protocol that we first see the mother by herself without anyone else with her. We want her to feel free to share whatever she wants to share. And then if her parents are with there with her, or even a friend or or or or her, you know, husband or boyfriend, and she'd like for them to come in and also get the information, then we we invite her to do so. And then he comes in and then we watch it. So she'll probably watch it again with him at that point, but she's already watched it, she's already been informed. And and so then she's choosing to help him, you know, have him also receive the information. So that that's how it, that's how it happens. It also happens with parents. We also found it very powerful when parents think it's a good idea for their young daughter to have an abortion. We also found that video helps to educate them to understand, you know, this is your grandchild, this is your daughter, this is this is something that's gonna affect her, that could affect her for the rest of her life in one way or another. And so it has helped to educate different people that are surrounding uh the young woman. Uh, but I would say, in terms of the audience, I'm gonna tell you, Jacob, the most successful banquet we ever had in our history. We had a speaker by the name of, you know him, Scott Klusendorf. Scott Klusendorf, in his presentations, he proposes to show an abortion video at the banquet, at the gala. People are having dinner and dessert, and and he said, part of my talk is showing this video. And we believe in the video, but we thought, is it right in this setting? We our board is a little confused uh because we think people are eating dinner, and then is you know, and then Scott said, Look, I can do the talk without it. It's not gonna be the same. I'm just telling you. So I think for us it was like, okay, we trust Scott. He he's a he's a he's an incredible, one of our best, you know. So then he did, he did the presentation, showing the video, and he was absolutely right. Our audience was our audience was moved, our donors were moved. He did it in the right way, but then it has to be very winsome, and he was very winsome about it. And people understood why we were watching it. Of course, we're gonna we're gonna see because this is the baby's story, you know, and the mother's story. And this video helps to tell that story and to help us understand what is truly happening to that child. So that was our most successful banquet that we had, is uh with the speaker who showed it, um, who showed this video. We also had Lila Rose, and I don't think she includes the a graphic video in her in her presentation, but we asked her, you know, we're gonna, we'd like to play it. Since you're here, we'd like to play that video. And I think it was new for her to, you know, do her testimony and then also play the video, but we found that it it really helped our audience to understand and to know that we we educate fully and and that it is helpful and that it is important that we don't keep this truth covered, that it in fact unleashing it with love is the most powerful thing.

SPEAKER_06 35:30

Wow. I love that, yeah, this this your stories are filled with um just inspiration and and kindness. One of the questions I like to ask in this podcast is where have you seen God's fingerprints? And so, you know, and I and you've quoted some scripture that has driven you to to be passionate. And where have you seen God's fingerprints? You know, what you know, how is that you know, where have you well how would you describe God working through through this these relationships, this information? And where have you know, if can you tell us a story where you've seen God work most recently that comes to mind?

SPEAKER_00 36:07

Wow, Jacob, there's so many. There's so many. I I would say, first of all, it's a privilege to do the work that I do, and I do it by the grace of God. It's I've seen his miracles, like see them every day. I love the people that I work with. I meet the most incredible people, people of God, people that are courageous and bold and beautiful, and just loving in in this movement. One of the things that I think that God has put in my heart these years is beyond just being the director of the center, I love to see other people also be the voice. So we're at the center, we're serving. We want people to know like you can save a life. The most powerful things that we do at the center at laps, you can do anywhere. You can do in your home with your friend that's facing a difficult pregnancy with your sister or a pastor in, you know, in his office. You know, it doesn't have to be at the center. Although the centers are there, we want every church to come and and you know partner with us and and to and to know that we're there for them. The two things that we do at the center is that loving kindness and and loving kindness and then education, especially through that video that to fix abortion. Anyone could do that. So I think often people don't know what to say. I'm always surprised by that that people are because we've we've bought the lies of the culture. We think if I speak up to somebody who's pregnant and scared or confused, she's gonna feel necessarily judged. No, that's that's the culture lying to us. No. There was an amazing study by the Charlotte Lozier Institute a year or two ago, Jacob. Incredible finding. They interviewed over a thousand women who've had abortions, and 80% of them said that if at least one person had offered help, had offered love and assistance, they probably would not have had that abortion. 80% of those women, any one of us can offer kindness. So one of the things that we we do as a center is go to churches, and of course we would need funding. Everybody needs funding. Uh, we stopped doing the baby bottles because it became about the bottle, you know, the logistics. When do we return it? What happened? You know, and I felt that it we weren't quite transmitting what we do, or that the work that we do is over there at the center, not right here in my home or my workplace. We wanted the people in the churches to know that it's a calling for them. So we did away with the bottles. Now what we do is we go to the churches and we want every single person to know that they are called to be the voice. They can be called in any place at any moment. And we hope that they know what to say. And so we tell them it's very simple. If somebody shares that they're pregnant and they have a problem, tell them that their baby's a blessing. You're not alone. God is with you, God loves you, God has a beautiful plan for you and your baby. You know, I'm gonna be by your side. What do you need? How can I help you? And there's a place that I know about that can help you, you know, Los Angeles Pregnancy Services. So we give everyone our card, our information. And yes, they can they can give a donation. We even have people signing up to be monthly donors at a at our table if they feel moved to do that. But it isn't the main thing that we do. We want to create disciples of what we do, everybody, everybody to feel like, you know what, there are people that laps can't reach at my work. They're not gonna see laps posters, they're not gonna see laps ads on the internet, maybe. Hopefully they do, but they might not. But I can be the voice for those people here. I'm praying for my colleagues, and then if any of them ever come to me, I'm gonna, I know what to say. I'm gonna be loving and listen, and then I'm gonna call laps and I'm gonna, I go, I go, you know what, take the day off from work and bring your colleague, bring your friend, bring your sister to the center. It's probably the most heroic, beautiful thing that God will ever ask you to do. So we've I I've I've been privileged, but I don't think my calling is unique, Jacob. I think so many people are being called, and it's proportionate to the incredible slaughter of innocents that we're seeing around us. So many babies are dying. It makes sense that a lot of people are being called, and that even though you know we're being censored on the internet often and things are happening to us here in California, especially, but that should make us creative, you know, with the Holy Spirit and say, okay, if we're being hindered here, how can we diversify? And I would say the people of God, you know, the people of God, let them feel that same conviction and that same strength, you know, certainty and confidence. And like, you're gonna be okay. I assure it. God has a plan, God is blessing you right now. And Jacob, it's not just the scary teen, by the way. Married couples are facing difficult pregnancies. Couples where everything's perfect are facing difficult pregnancies, you know. So be ready with that voice, be ready with that kindness. To say nothing of all the abuse that pregnant women get in even in the churches, Jacob, because we bought into the whole population control mentality as well. So let's be the loving voice. That's what Jesus would do. Jesus would look at a person with conviction. And if that person is in crisis, guess what? He told us that is your neighbor. And that's what he taught in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Good Samaritan, he said, What's going to happen to him if I don't speak, if I don't do something? So you step in like the Good Samaritan, have compassion, do enough, and bring them over to the end. I would say the end is like laps, you know, love pregnancy centers, over 3,000 all over America, thousands more all over the world. Bring them to that place where they're gonna find help. You don't have to do everything, you don't have to know everything. Just be loving and kind and call us right away, you know, and bring the person right away. God has a plan and there is a loving solution for every difficult pregnancy. So just have that conviction and don't be afraid to speak up. And I promise you, you're gonna, your voice is gonna shake and you're gonna be. I still get nervous. You know, I've been doing this almost 30 years, Jacob, because it's it's a tremendous privilege to do what we do, to speak to someone, to be in that position, to be able to offer that hope, but to also have that conviction of God has a beautiful plan. This is a crossroads, and he's inviting you to go deeper in faith, and he's gonna bless you. So I want everybody to feel that way. So when we go to churches, we have made that our main message and making the the fundraising secondary. And God still provides, Jacob. God still provides. We've done the thing where we ask them to be anybody who's really moved, become a monthly donor. And you know what? Through those monthly donors, we end up having funding for, you know, much more than if we had done the little bottles, you know, I find for our center. And and I love that we then afterwards we get calls from people. We had a call from a church some months ago. We were at a church in Amber. I spoke at the church, and then that week I did get a phone call. I answered the phones that day, and I got a call from a girl who said, you know, I heard you guys speak at my church. My sister, she's not doing too well, and she has an appointment to have an abortion at Planned Parenthood. Can you help her? I said, Of course, of course. Bring her right away, we'll we'll talk with her. And that's what we want is a people of God to be the answer. Every single one of us.

SPEAKER_06 43:37

Wow. Yeah, it it yeah, the the the people who work at Francis clinics are people who who are are are peace, you know, they're they're people of peace. And you can you can just sort of sense you know the how how the temperature is lowered and how the anxiety can be let go of. And it's such a good place to be in the presence of people of peace. As you, you know, as being a part of this movement and a part of the body of Christ, how would you encourage those who are you know hearing a calling and and haven't responded yet? How what would you say to someone who who is being called but hasn't taken that step?

SPEAKER_00 44:19

I would say if you really feel attracted to this work and you haven't, you know, taken a step. Often, Jacob, it's because people think, what am I gonna say? How am I capable of doing what they do? You know, so they become intimidated. I say, have humility, have openness, and go to the center and said what and say, What do you need? You know, what what well you know I need you to pick up these baby items from that church and bring them over to us. Great. Any anything that the the Center needs, you know, offer to help. So you know, you become a sort of apprentice, if you will, because you start off just serving, being around, doing things that maybe might not feel like the the ultimate thing you could do, but you're helping. So I would say you start off by going to the center and offer to volunteer and whatever task is needed. Um, I think one of the most beautiful things that we can do, Jacob, uh, if we are feeling the fire is you know, we have an upcoming 40 Days for Life campaign, but go and pray. Go to that go to that place that's you know the modern-day Calvary and give give an hour of your time. I think there's nothing like standing in front of the abortion center, which is a legal act, a legal activity that we can do, and being in that conviction of what's truly happening. I think nothing convicts you like being there and with that peace and with that love. And you know, of course, and you sense that spiritual battle. You really do. But I think it's great for people toward who have who don't know what to do, where to start, just to go and you don't have to commit to talking to anybody, you could just you could pray. The leaders there will probably tell you like what to what to do, you know, what where to stand and you know, kind of what to do, but just go and get involved, you know, start and then you're gonna meet people that are gonna invite you to events or trainings. Uh, I would say getting trained is fantastic. Many centers have trained our centers, you know, we train uh, but most of the people that come to us end up praying outside of the abortion centers because we have numerous abortion centers, so they end up going out and uh praying there and then directing any mother who's in crisis to to come to us. We love to work with people who are on the sidewalk, but we were actually started by people who were at the sidewalk, who realized there's no there's no place to take the moms that's private and where we can you know talk with them. So then the center was started by people who were praying outside of the abortion centers. So we uh from the inception have worked very closely with the people who pray outside of those places. So I would say that's a great activity to to do. I would say I would say look for training. Sidewalk advocates for life is also wonderful for training. You can start that. And then, you know, I'm sure your center would would love to meet you, your local center. I think it's pregnancycenters.org. I think you can go on the search engine and find your your nearest center and just call and say, I'd love to visit. I'd love to offer my help. Time, treasure, and talent. So time, you know, also please, if you have you know, me the means, it doesn't take much, you know, become a monthly donor to your local center. And then if you have a special skill, if you're a lawyer, if you're you know an accountant, some skill that you can offer, or you do social media or graphics or please, we'd love to we're blessed by volunteers who offer their services because they are they have some sort of you know profession that that blesses us. So everybody can do something and God has a place for you. And remember that at any moment and Jacob, I've heard two stories of people that were ready. They were said, Lord use me. And these two stories involve being at the checkout at the supermarket where they overheard a conversation if somebody was pregnant and scared, and they they said, I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry, I just overheard this and I thought this would be palpable. One person had happened to have a fetal model in their purse and just brought it out and just talked to the person. Another person had the phone number for our center and gave it to the to the family. I mean, you just don't know where you're gonna be called to be the voice. And I said, just don't be afraid, and it's wonderful. And I never thought I'd end up where I am today, Jacob. I started off as a volunteer, and at that first training, I said, Oh my goodness, what how am I gonna do this? This is this sounds so overwhelming. It was Sister Paula Vandegar who was like, you know, make sure you rest in peace, and she was such a champion for us. She just training us, and it just felt like how are we gonna do this? But then you realize after a while, you know what it feels like, Jacob? It feels like I'm talking to somebody that could be my sister or my friend who has a very big problem. And thankfully I have information that was gonna help her, and I'm also willing to walk with her. That's the spirituality of what we do at the at the pregnancy centers in terms of the client advocate. That's it. That's it. And then you're gonna realize I had that in me all along. I just needed more information. So yeah, go to your local center or go to your local 40 Days for Life campaign. Another cool thing too, I think is needed is people at the churches saying, I want to be your liaison. I want to make sure my pastor knows about your center. I want to make sure we have your publicity, that we have your posters, that every person in the office has your number because we get these calls. Churches get calls like this, like crisis pregnancies. We want to know what to we want them to know what to say. And I want to make sure the youth groups, the prayer groups have a chance to hear you at least once a year. That's a great service.

SPEAKER_06 49:53

So Sister Paula, I'd like to have you share how would you describe the impact that Sister Paula had on you?

SPEAKER_00 50:01

Well, I I think that she taught us the beauty of the being with the person in the crisis. First of all, that it's a privilege and it it's also a responsibility that we're taking on. So we we must be trained. We must be trained. Now, in the early days, like I said, it felt overwhelming. But the beautiful thing, you know, when we started our center, we were we started, we just, you know, we trained and then we went forward in faith. But it happens, Jacob, you have a case where, for example, I remember when I was a volunteer and had a woman who was interested in adoption. And I remember the training, but it it's not the same as being conversant, you know. So what I did is I called another center who had been around a couple of decades decades already. We just opened and they've been around for 20 20 years. And I call the other center, and then the person who answers, I tell them what's going on. I said, I have a mother here with me and she's interested in adoption. Can you tell me what resources I can offer to her? What can I how can I help her with this issue? And she just had so much to say. And it was awesome. They were like a big sister to us. Uh so that that was so wonderful. And they were also trained by Sister Paula. So it was beautiful how we Sister Paula created this network of pregnancy centers that you know we we helped each other. And the center that I we called, by the way, Jacob when we opened, they also came over and helped us paint the walls. And I mean, they were just there for us. And uh, so sister Paula created this beautiful network. I know you've spoken at at her conferences in for years, and and uh so it was it was very beautiful for her to also um recognize the need for a center in the area where we where we are currently so many abortion centers in these areas where minorities live. And so she helped to start the center, she helped to train us. Our first director, our founder, Marcella Fiora, was part of her Volunteers for Life program as a young woman. She she uh had had three abortions, she had a beautiful conversion back to her faith, and then she did a year of service there with Sister Paula. It's when she realized look at this area with so many abortion centers, seven within a mile and a half radius, no pregnancy center. And so she moved forward in faith with a group of people who were praying outside of one of the abortion centers, and with Sister Paula's just loving guidance, and she was such a loving person. She really encapsulated the heart of what we're supposed to be with that mother, that tenderness, that listening. There's there's something that's so beautiful, and it's an art and it's a gift to be able to truly listen to someone, to truly be there for them. It's a discipline that we have to do it and alongside learning to listen to God, because we're in a noisy world, you know. Are you listening to the Holy Spirit? You know, and then are you truly present to this person that's before you? Are you understanding the dignity of this person made in the image of God and her child? Are you reminding her of God's loving faithfulness? You know, many of the mothers we see are Christian, whether they're Protestant or Catholic. So this is something that they tell us so that we can introduce the idea of God. And so I think that we we go back to her trainings, we go back to her trainings to um to learn just how to be with the person. Um where we differed with Sister Paula was as we as we grew in knowledge of our community, we realized that videos like the abortion procedures was which is not part of her original protocol was important for artwork. And so, and that's fine. It happens, my goodness, happens in in in the Bible, you know. Saint Paul and Barnabas, I mean it happens, you have a differing right, and then they're both righteous and they're both doing great, yeah, but they differ. So and with with with Sister Paula, we did have that point of of differing. And she had her reasons, and we the thing with us is that we were learning to know our people and that our people were educating us. You know, we weren't imposing what we thought was a right. It was and and we the the counseling we were learning had to be at the service of serving the people that God had put in our path. So but we always, always, always treasure that beautiful spirituality of of being there in the counseling, and we take our time uh the one of the advantages of not being medical, in my opinion, is that we can take our time with the counseling. Sometimes it'll be a typical session is about an hour before they go and do their ultrasound with the physician. But if it takes two hours and we have had sometimes three hours where she's just sharing and pouring out her heart and needs that time, we spend that time with her. And there's no limit. And so we stay and we have time to follow up. We we remain just you know, we remain counseling, but I think that's also our forte. We don't feel that we're after after after so many years and not being medical, even though we considered it at one point, but we found that well, this actually strengthens the service that we give the mother, and she still gets the medical care that she needs so much with a physician that's down the street that is incredible. And he's a high-risk pregnancy specialist. So he sees any any any mothers for ultrasound, but even also for any medical concerns she might she might have.

SPEAKER_06 55:18

Oh, that's amazing. That's so good. Well, Ashley, this has been a pleasure to hear your story and to hear all these beautiful things, and it's also been nice to reflect on you know the roots of a lot of our work and how they connect with Sister Paula's guidance and ways. Would you um close out our podcast with a prayer and we'll ask those who are listening to join?

SPEAKER_00 55:39

Sure. Lord Jesus, thank you for this time. Thank you for the work of the pregnancy centers. Thank you for Jacob's podcast that helps to inform us and unites us and helps us to share ideas, Lord. Open the hearts of those who listen to to really seriously consider using these abortion videos that I know you have inspired, that have saved so many lives, Lord. Open the eyes of your people, of our leaders to understand that we need to see the truth and to be able to vanquish the truth, Lord. Thank you for all the lives saved and please continue to fortify us and lead us and guide us to final victory where abortion will be a nightmare of the past, and we will live in a true culture of life. In Jesus' name, amen.

SPEAKER_06 56:34

Amen.