It's been five years since Abby Johnson walked out of her Planned Parenthood abortion facility on October 5, 2009 in Bryan/College Station, Texas -- the very place where 40 Days for Life started. I will never forget that day.
I'm listing the top five things that I have learned about Abby Johnson since she crossed into uncharted water and came knocking on our door.
4. Abby is loud (just ask Planned Parenthood)
I the feeling when Abby left but looking back it is true -- we knew her better than Planned Parenthood did.
Abby struggled with working there and that was apparent to us but not to Planned Parenthood. Abby in conversation always had a tone of justification or rationalization for what she was doing. She was quick to say she was a Christian and there was an undertone with her that the other workers didn't have. She wanted Christian approval for what she was doing and that?s always a sign of a troubled conscience. When she left, her former boss said, "She always had a little religion in her." Classy.
Abby also talked to us too much. We had a staff meeting about this topic after Abby had yelled at one of our volunteers over something. From those incidents to the occasions where she would come out and talk to me, Abby seemed to be getting comfortable with us. That is dangerous if you are Planned Parenthood. She was the director; but how a staff member or supervisor from out of town didn't address this as a potential problem is beyond me. If I'm Planned Parenthood, I don't want any of my staff conversing with pro-lifers. It went unnoticed and the Holy Spirit began planting seeds.
They didn?t really know her that well and that was on full display in the embarrassing way they mishandled her resignation. When Abby left, they tried to silence her by filing a lawsuit against her; and by doing so, they handed her a microphone.
Abby was lying low and I was trying to find her a job through every contact I had. You may not know the name Abby Johnson if Planned Parenthood hadn't cause a media storm by sending a press release in an attempt to scare her from the public eye. It is laughable now to think Abby would not respond with a loud voice to their aggressiveness.
Media, speeches, books, legislation, starting a ministry and lawsuits have all been part of her not-so-subtle reaction. Abby is loud and Planned Parenthood is finding out the hard way just how loud she can be. I thank God she is now loud for the right side of history.
NEXT ... #3. Abby is generous
Abby Johnson is the director of And Then There Were None and the author of Unplanned.
