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‘Love always wins’: Manassas abortion clinic closes

Katie Scott | Catholic Herald

Protesters hold signs along Sudley Road in front of Amethyst Health Center for Women in Manassas. Thousands of people have kept vigil in front of the clinic over the years, and the closure is seen as an answered prayer.

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Amethyst Health Center for Women is the second Northern Virginia abortion clinic to close in the past two years.

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A young pro-lifer holds a sign outside Amethyst Health Center for Women in Manassas. Fourteen 40 Days for Life campaigns were held in front of the abortion clinic, which closed Sept. 28.

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Sept. 2017 update: Find out the new use for the clinic

“Closed” reads a sign hanging on the door of Amethyst Health
Center for Women. After providing abortions for 27 years, the
Manassas center shut its doors for good Sept. 28.

For the countless people who kept vigil through rain and snow
outside the building, lifting their posters and prayers, the
story behind the sign is not about a closing but about
openness: men and women who were open to harassment as they
stood in protest; women in crisis pregnancies open to life at
the last minute; and an abortion doctor who was open to
radical conversion.

“Some portray us as shutting down the rights of women,” said
Kelly McGinn, who’s prayed in front of the center for 15
years. “But this is about souls reaching out to women in
need, being a source of friendship. This was not so much a
battle but a campaign of love.”

Amethyst, located on Sudley Road, was sold following the
retirement of the 76-year-old founder and owner, whose late
husband began providing abortions when the center opened
in1988.

There now are about 17 abortion clinics in the state, with
five in Northern Virginia. NOVA Women’s Healthcare in
Fairfax, formerly the largest provider in the commonwealth,
closed two years ago. Pro-lifers had long had an active
presence at the clinic and viewed the closure as an answered
prayer.

A sense of celebration and gratitude was felt again when
Amethyst closed last month.

“I’m just awestruck at the power of God,” said McGinn, a
parishioner of All Saints Church in Manassas. “This closing
has the Holy Spirit all over it.”

The fact that the retiring owner did not sell to another
abortion provider “is truly miraculous,” added Ken Groves, a
parishioner of Holy Trinity Church in Gainesville and founder
of the Manassas 40 Days for Life. The biannual 40 Days for
Life campaign seeks to end abortion through prayer, fasting
and vigils.

“That it’s closed, that the city is free of abortions – it
shows so clearly that prayers get answered,” said John
Murray, pro-life coordinator at St. Mary of Sorrows Church in
Fairfax.

Over the years, 17 area Catholic churches, along with a
number of Christian denominations, participated in protests
outside Amethyst. Fourteen 40 Days for Life campaigns were
held there. Moms carried babies as they prayed, and retirees
rose early to post signs that read, “God loves you and your
child” and “Adoption is a choice everyone can live with.”

“There were so many people cooperating with God to get this
closing,” said Mike Baldwin, former campaign coordinator of
40 Days for Life in Manassas.

The peaceful protesters received honks of support along with
honks of anger, looks of disgust and yelled obscenities.

You make the choice “to be laughed at and scoffed at, to be a
fool for Christ,” said McGinn. “At the end of the day, we
have to put ourselves in uncomfortable situations to make the
impossible possible.”

McGinn feels a personal connection to individuals struggling
with unplanned pregnancies. Her oldest child is the result of
a woman – whom she calls “our hero” – who chose adoption
rather than abortion.

“It was a very, very brave decision,” McGinn said. “It’s an
example of selfless love.”

Along with their adopted son, McGinn and her husband have
three biological children.

McGinn said facing a crisis pregnancy is incredibly
difficult, and the goal of those who pray in front of
abortion clinics is not just to save babies but also to help
women “with a better path forward.”

“That’s such an important part of the pro-life movement,” she
said. “It’s not about judging them. It’s about helping them.”

There are many stories of women being moved by the loving
approach of protesters along Sudley Road. Murray recalls one
December morning when a couple dozen pro-lifers were singing
Christmas carols in front of the clinic. Amid rounds of
“Silent Night” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” a car
pulled out of the Amethyst parking lot and a young woman in
the back seat rolled down the window.

“I’m gonna keep it,” she called out.

“What struck me was that she was clearly joyful,” said
Murray. “It was a very moving experience. It was the
perfected Christmas gift; nothing I’ve gotten has topped
that.”

A year and a half before the “closed” sign went up,
protesters’ efforts also changed the heart of a doctor who’d
been performing abortions.

Groves, a retired engineer, has spent nearly every day for
the past few years praying outside the Manassas clinic. When
he first started coming, the father of five was filled with
anger. “I couldn’t imagine a person having an abortion,” he
said.

When the doctors arrived at work, he’d ask, “Hey, why are you
here? You’re killing babies.” They’d respond with anger and
cursing, Groves recalled.

“I realized that if I wanted them to convert, I needed to act
more Christian,” he said. “I needed to show them something
they’d want to convert to.”

With his new perspective, he started speaking to the doctors
from a place of love and compassion.

One day, after talking with Dr. Charles Akoda, he asked the
doctor if he was Catholic and if he might be interested in
seeing a priest.

Two weeks later, on Divine Mercy Sunday, the fallen-away
Catholic met with an Arlington diocesan priest. Akoda hasn’t
performed an abortion since.

“You think as an abortion doctor he’s beyond God’s mercy,”
said Baldwin. “But his story is an example of just how
endless God’s mercy is.”

Groves said the last time he spoke with Akoda – who now
delivers babies full time – the doctor “asked for our prayers
and thanked us for doing God’s work.”

The prayers and vigils will continue at the remaining
abortion clinics around the diocese, with the hope that
“others can experience what it’s like to see the ‘closed’
sign in the window,” McGinn said. “It’s just palpable joy.”

And the protesters said their approach will remain one of
compassion.

“Kindness really is the way to change hearts,” said Groves.
“Love always wins.”

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