This sign notified patients that the Palmdale abortion chamber would be closing. (Photo by Anna Calzada)

Less than six months after sidewalk counseling efforts began outside Nicholas Braemer's abortion mill in Palmdale, it officially closed its doors on April 1, 1998. But as the killing chamber lies silent, the sidewalk ministry continues to bear fruit.

As this newsletter was going to press, a baby was due to be born - a baby who had been scheduled to die in the now-defunct abortion chamber.

The child's mother had entered the abortion chamber after a brief encounter with the sidewalk counselors. However, her boyfriend stayed outside, as the counselors pleaded with him for his baby's life. The woman was entering the second trimester of her pregnancy, but the abortion chamber was going to abort her baby anyway (even though they were supposed to be limited to first trimester abortions).

Finally, he went inside and helped her decide to keep the baby. They attempted to receive a refund of the money they paid for the abortion; eventually they received a partial refund.

Some Palmdale sidewalk counselors now minister on Saturdays outside Braemer's Panorama City (northern Los Angeles) abortion mill, where his former facility refers Palmdale area women. In addition, some of the counselors travel to Bakersfield to participate in the sidewalk ministry.

Call Anna Calzada at 944-4784 for updates on pro-life efforts in the Antelope Valley. Anna has been researching a rumor regarding a new abortion facility opening soon, but so far the rumor has proven false. (However, some abortions apparently continue at an Antelope Valley hospital.)

Update: The office of this former killing center is now occupied by a place of life, the Antelope Valley Pregnancy Counseling Center!