From the print edition of The New American
When Abby Johnson quit her job as director of a Texas Planned Parenthood clinic in 2009, she had no intention of becoming a pro-life activist.
Then Planned Parenthood tried to get a judge to slap a permanent gag order on her. The attempted silencing of Johnson not only failed in court but also spurred her to speak out.
“That was when I found myself telling my story, and things took an unexpected turn for me at that moment,” the 37-year-old mother of seven said in an interview with The New American.
With a story that few novelists would have the chutzpah to concoct — Johnson said she left Planned Parenthood after being informed of a doubling of the clinic’s abortion quota and witnessing an ultrasound-guided abortion — Johnson quickly became one of the most prominent pro-life activists in the country, which brought her to the attention of others who were having a similar change of heart.
“After I had been out of Planned Parenthood for a couple years, I started having other workers, clinic workers, they were reaching out, and they were asking me for help, and how do they leave and is there someone that can help them,” Johnson recalled. “And I was actually shocked to find out that in 40 years of trying to end legalized abortion, the pro-life movement had never thought about an outreach specifically to the abortion clinic worker.”
To rectify the situation, in 2012 Johnson founded And Then There Were None (ATTWN). The Round Rock, Texas-based organization’s mission is “to end abortion from the inside out” by “help[ing] abortion clinic workers leave the abortion industry,” according to its website, abortionworker.com.
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Just what is so difficult about quitting a job at an abortion clinic that it requires assistance from outsiders? Isn’t it as simple as handing in your resignation?
“Leaving the abortion industry is not like leaving a restaurant or leaving an insurance agency,” maintained Johnson. “When you decide that you’re going to leave the abortion industry, you then become an enemy of the abortion industry…. As soon as you leave, they will turn to deception, they’ll turn to lies, they will do anything to discredit you and to give you a bad reputation.”
Johnson knows whereof she speaks. Having been named the 2008 “Employee of the Year” at her Planned Parenthood clinic, upon her resignation the following year, Johnson suddenly found herself being labeled a “disgruntled” employee who “was facing … disciplinary action,” allegations that she says were “a complete lie.” She was also accused of removing items from the clinic and supplying confidential information about an abortion provider to a pro-life organization; she denies these charges as well.
Annette Lancaster, who, with the help of ATTWN, left her job as manager of the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Planned Parenthood clinic in 2016, told The New American she was treated likewise by her former employer. “They came back a few weeks later saying they couldn’t find several weeks’ worth of deposits, that I had stolen them,” she said. She claims to have easily parried that accusation by pointing out that there were video cameras aimed at the safe where the money was kept, so it would have been a trivial matter to prove who, if anyone, actually stole the money. She said she was also falsely accused of making off with other items from the clinic.
Another barrier to quitting an abortion clinic is finding work elsewhere. “When you have worked for the abortion industry,” said Johnson, “you essentially are a pariah in the medical community.”
“Medical professionals know that the abortion industry is corrupt,” she explained. “They know that there’s systemic Medicaid fraud. They know that they cut corners. They know they don’t properly sterilize instruments. They know that medical professionals are working beyond their scope of practice.” Therefore, while they may support abortion in the abstract, they are reluctant to hire people who used to work in abortion clinics, she contended.
Temporal concerns aren’t the only things keeping people from exiting the abortion industry.
“When you have been working for the enemy, our spiritual enemy, and then you decide that you’re going to follow a life that is righteous and good and just and you’re going to follow Christ, Satan is going to do everything he can to come at you and to tear down your family and to bring turmoil into your life, and so there’s a significant amount of spiritual warfare that takes place when someone decides that they no longer want to work inside of the abortion industry,” said Johnson.
Clearly, ATTWN has its work cut out for it. Fortunately, Johnson and her team are up to the task. ATTWN pairs each client with a client manager who helps the client through the transition, including meeting emotional needs and supplying job leads. The group provides temporary financial assistance to help make up for lost wages. It offers free legal services through its network of more than 3,000 attorneys spanning all 50 states. It assists the client in finding a new job, including writing a resumé and preparing for interviews. It holds “healing retreats” to help clients deal with their feelings of guilt and shame for having participated in abortions. And it connects clients with local pro-life advocates who can help them find churches where they will be welcomed and supported.