After giving birth to her first child a few months ago, “Victoria” signed up for membership at a gym to help get her body back into shape. But less than a month later, she found out that she was pregnant again. “Your gym membership will just be a waste of money now,” her husband said, “you should just have an abortion.” Their insurance would pay for the abortion at no financial cost to them.

Victoria’s husband drove her to the FPA abortion chamber in Bakersfield on Monday. After ensuring that she was inside the killing center, he began to drive away. But then he encountered the Christians praying outside as part of the 40 Days for Life campaign. After speaking with the Christians, his heart was convicted, so he placed a call to Victoria on her cell phone, saying “if you don’t want to go through with this, don’t.”

Victoria had already been taken in the back by this time. She had been furious with her husband ever since he told her to abort the baby, because she was looking forward to having another baby. Her blood work had been done and she was now in the ultrasound room, one step away from having her baby aborted. Turning to the ultrasound technician, she said “Is it too late to change my mind?”

One of the staff members seemed reluctant to accept her change of heart, but Victoria finally convinced her. She was let out of the building by the downstairs door, where women usually exit after abortions. Every sign which normally indicates that a woman has aborted her baby was present in Victoria’s case (the bandage from the bloodwork, the paperwork Victoria carried, etc.), so the Christians on the sidewalks assumed that her baby had been aborted, erecting a white cross in memory of the baby. But the baby was still alive.

Victoria didn’t tell the Christians anything at the time, because she wanted her husband to think that she went through with the abortion. Although he was sad after picking her up from the abortion center on Monday, she still has not told him that their baby is alive, because she is upset with him for asking her to abort their baby.

Thursday morning, Victoria and her mother happened to be passing by the vigil site on their way to some classes they are attending together. The mother and daughter began talking to Grace, who was praying at the vigil, informing her what had happened Monday. Referring to the impact of the vigil participants on Victoria’s husband when he was driving away from the abortion center on Monday, Victoria’s mother said “it was Jesus speaking through them.”

Looking at the field of 19 white crosses erected outside the FPA abortion center, Victoria smiled and said “you need to take away one of those crosses!”