A Social Studies Lesson: Our picnic at Planned Parenthood

There is a big anti-abortion movement happening right now because some shocking and tragic information came to light about a government run clinic called Planned Parenthood. In one year alone more than 300,000 abortions were performed. And worse than that, parts of many of the babies bodies were sold for profit. Endless posts on social media ranted about this genocide, with many people even posting horrific videos in an effort to spur the public into action. Personally, whenever videos came up on my news feed I got the distinct impression that I should NOT watch them. I had heard about this tragedy when we still lived in California, but the videos hadn't been released and so it wasn't all over everything yet. I posted about it on fb and said that because I am a person who has to DO something about what I learn, I offered to anyone who might read it that I would adopt their baby if they were considering an abortion. Only a handful of people liked it, and to be honest I knew no one would take me up on it but I just felt like I needed to heighten awareness of the problem and suggest a solution. 

Fast forward to this summer with being bombarded daily by the saddest story ever. I talked with friends and family about it. I researched about it as much as I could stomach. I prayed to know what I could DO. At first I felt that I should teach my children correct principles grounded in eternal truths that apply to this situation and our specific time and place, so I started pondering and planning what to say. But another idea kept coming to me. That same one I had before, but that hadn't really worked so I put it off. I needed to take a real stand about it, not just post words on the internet.

You know that feeling of being partially asleep? It is this space in between actually waking up and being in a deep sleep. Sometimes during that experience I dream. They aren't just crazy random dreams that I have at other times. I believe that this type of dream for me is communication from my Heavenly Father. And the night before we went on our picnic I had a dream about it. It is too special to me to share here, but that morning when I woke up I knew I had to go. 

Right after breakfast I rummaged around for supplies to make a sign but the best I came up with was a cardboard moving box and a sharpie. I knew if I waited until I could get to the store for poster board I might never go so I settled on ghetto. As I was cutting out a side to use Kent asked me what I was doing, and I told him it was just for a social studies project we were doing later. Wow, right? Again, I just felt like if I even tried to explain to him what I was doing and why I might not make it out the door, so I decided to wait to tell him the whole truth until after we got back. Lame I know, but whatever. I took the cardboard down to the basement and wrote: If you came here today to get an ABORTION, please consider letting us ADOPT your baby instead. We will LOVE you both for the rest of our lives. I hid the sign in the car. I got the kids and our picnic ready and off we went to our weekly trip to the library. 

The next day I ended up writing about our experience for an organization called Mormon Women Stand. I'll repost it here since that is where the story picks up now...

Allison MacKay: Defender of the Family

As I buckled my four kids in their car seats I was silently praying for the right words to say. It was Caleb, my five-year-old son, who asked the question I knew was coming: “Where are we going for our picnic today, Mom?” We had just left the library and we always have a picnic afterwards at a park or with friends, but today I had a different plan: we were going to eat our lunch alone sitting on the sidewalk outside the Planned Parenthood clinic nearest our home and hold up a cardboard sign in the hopes of making a difference.

I have discovered the magic of sitting in the car for teaching moments (they are a captive audience!) so I turned in my seat and took the opportunity to tell them not only where we were going and what we would be doing, but why it was so important. I kept my explanation of abortion heartfelt and simple. I heard a sharp intake of breath from my three-year-old daughter Jenna and turned to see a look of utter shock on her face. “So they kill the little babies until they DIE?!?” She almost whispered it, as she hugged her blanket more tightly. I solemnly nodded and replied that it makes Heavenly Father so sad to see this happening, and so we need to do anything we can to stop it. I told them my plan, and showed them the sign I had made that morning. The Spirit filled our car as I watched their expressions change from appalled sadness to loving determination. Natalie piped up from the back seat, “Maybe when they see children eating and smiling and playing together, then they will see that a baby would be worth it!” Her seven-year-old voice quivered with conviction, and I just nodded because I didn’t trust my voice at the moment. There were more questions on the drive, sometimes I didn’t have the answers and I told them so, but other times answers did come that surprised me. Examples from scripture stories and General Conference talks, even from our own experiences, built our testimonies as we drove.

When we arrived, I could tell they felt a bit nervous and unsure of what it would be like. But I felt totally at peace, regardless of the outcome. You see, I meant every word that I said when I wrote that sign. My goals for this experience were twofold: 1) To be a defender of the family (please see Bonnie Oscarson’s General Conference talk “Be Defenders of the Family“) by teaching my children eternal truths concerning current social issues; and 2) To get our experience out on social media to inspire someone do this too and make a difference! I was so fed up with the endless rants and horrific videos and hateful accusations filling up my news feed! The success of my first goal was still burning in my heart as we pulled into the parking lot, and it felt like this was the easy part.We walked up to the building and I had Natalie take my picture with the sign. I got out our picnic stuff and snapped a picture of the kids. I previewed it and noticed that Caleb was making a distressed looking face and so asked to retake it, but again it was the same result. I showed him the picture and asked why he wasn’t smiling, and his response was, “Mom, we shouldn’t smile at the place where they kill babies.” 

The actual time at the clinic was nothing extraordinary. We saw several women and their interactions with us varied from ignoring us, to just a faint smile in passing. We ate our lunch. We tried to keep Seth’s almost two-year-old hands from banging on the windows. We watched and waited. At one point Caleb wanted to spice things up so he took the sign and held it up to the window facing into the waiting room and smiled big as day, only to run back to us a few moments later laughing that the receptionist had seen him. I guess up to that point they hadn’t realized why we were there because a couple minutes later a man came out and asked us to leave. I responded by asking if the sidewalk was public property and he retorted that it was part of the building’s property and if we wanted to stay we would have to stand in the street. It was raining, and there was no way my four “littles” would stand safely next to me on the street, so I wished him a nice day and we packed up and got in the car to go. Just as I turned the key Natalie exclaimed, “Oh no! Look!” There was a pregnant woman coming down the sidewalk. We all held our breath as she approached and then passed the door of Planned Parenthood. The sigh of relief was audible. I couldn’t help but smile. My children understood the value of unborn life!

As soon as we got home, I put Seth down for his nap, got the kids going on their library books, and then hopped on Facebook to make my post. I wondered how I could best accomplish my second goal. Last year, before all the hype, when I found out about all the abortions done by Planned Parenthood in the United States, I was heartbroken and wrote a post about it with an attachment to the article I had read. Maybe 40 people had liked it. I knew having pictures would help, but I also knew it had to get bigger than my timeline outreach to actually make a difference. So after posting to my wall, I also posted it to the Facebook group I am a member of so that thousands of like-minded people would see it. Even then I had no idea the impact it would have, I could only hope.

The way in which an event is recorded can become more important than the event itself. People are blowing this up into something it wasn’t. We didn’t actually stop anyone from getting an abortion and we didn’t adopt a saved baby. What did happen is that a normal mom, trying to follow the prophet, stood up in defense of the family. When we want to make a difference our actions don’t need to be grandiose, but they do need to be prompted. If I can ponder and pray and receive an answer for how to take action, then so can you! Each of us can lift where we stand. Please join me!

Allison grew up in California as the second oldest of eight children with a farmer father and librarian mother. She attended BYU where she studied Theatre and Media Arts Education and History Teaching, and also met and married the love of her life. Her husband’s job has taken them all over the country and they are happy to have settled in Utah for the time being with their four children. As a homeschooling homemaker, she doesn’t have spare time, but enjoys making time for emergency preparedness, family history, and activities in the great outdoors.  

This wasn't the whole article I sent originally. They cut out several parts for the sake of argument. You can tell because a couple parts are pretty choppy and don't flow as nicely as they once did. =o]
But whatever, I'm still grateful for the opportunity to share our experience. I hope that after reading it, people will know that if someone like me can prayerfully take action then so can they! The president of the organization messaged me the next day and told me that there had been over 40,000 hits to the article in the first 24 hours after posting. And my fb post to the LDS Homeschool group was shared more than 2,000 times. I have almost 200 pending friend requests from total strangers. I got messages from dozens of people who I don't know thanking me or yelling at me or telling me their stories or offering me children. It was pretty overwhelming. To any of my friends who shared my post I replied with this comment because I wanted people to understand where I am coming from:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

—Marianne Williamson

Honestly, from this experience I have learned that the most important people in your life are the ones you live with. The ones you see and talk to and touch each day. Yes Heavenly Father can use us to bless the lives of strangers, and with ALL MY HEART I hope that we made a real difference to someone somewhere. BUT in the end I am here and they are there and the ones I'm with need me more! I had the opportunity and privilege to teach my children the TRUTH that day, it has come up since and I'm sure it will again and so that is the reason we went. People are saying I am brave. Well, I couldn't even tell my husband what we were doing because I was afraid he would stop me. I think what it comes down to is that I was willing to follow a prompting. Someone with nicer hair and handwriting probably could have reached a wider audience, but since I am what God had to work with He used me. Now I can go back to my homeschooling and homemaking at peace with the world having done my part...for now. Until the next time He calls, this girl is staying out of the limelight! 

There's surely somewhere a lowly place

In earth's harvest fields so wide

Where I may labor through life's short day

For Jesus, the Crucified.

So trusting my all to thy tender care,

And knowing thou lovest me,

I'll do thy will with a heart sincere:

I'll be what you want me to be. -Hymns, 270