"No Temporary Affair: Bound4LIFE"
By Ashley Flores
Marquita Southall, 20-year-old pro-life activist, is one of those people and I am so happy I have not closed my heart to getting to know her.
In 2011, Southall answered God's call to take ownership of the abortion epidemic in the United States and became the leader of the Mobile Chapter of Bound4LIFE. She has given up the typical entertainments and recreational activities of the average college-age woman, and has instead decided to spend her time educating and mobilizing new activists. Through Silent Sieges, which are public events where activists wear "LIFE Tape" over their mouths while silently praying in front of courthouses and abortion facilities around the nation, and the distribution of LIFE Bands, the need for an increase in Faith in order to create an increase in pro-life legislation and personal decision making is growing.
Not only am I honored to know her, I am also honored to call her my friend. I recently had time to probe Southall on exactly how she feels about abortion, her relationship with Christ and how it has affected her pro-life involvement, and get some more insight into Bound4LIFE.
Why is spreading this message so important to you?
"The message of LIFE is very important to me. I remember lying in my room one night and the issue of abortion fell upon me like a ton of bricks. God basically swamped my soul with His heart for the unborn.Abortion is a topic most people are "too familiar" with. Countless amounts of people write papers and even give speeches about it in their class projects. To me, abortion is more than a topic, it is murder.
So I began to do my research on abortion and after finding out so many staggering statistics I felt as if I had to do something about it. There have been about 53 million abortions in America since 1973. That’s the population of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas combined. I don’t know about you, but they blew my mind!
The issue of abortion is so close to my heart because I could have had another sister, but my mom chose to terminate her life. My mom has five girls and every single time we gather together it feels like someone is missing. Immediately my mind floods back to the abortion my mom had before my youngest sister was born.The cutoff date for abortion is 6 months and my mom actually gave birth to me at 5 months; I was born 1lb 3 oz. I always think to myself if I survived, every single baby that was killed at that stage could have survived as well. I was in the hospital for 3 months fighting for my life, and LIFE won. I believe every baby deserves to get a chance to live."
Have you heard any deeply moving stories about abortion since becoming active with Bound4Life?
"I’ve actually heard quite a few stories that were very stirring. My best friend met a pregnant young lady at her job and she began to tell her about Bound4LIFE. The young lady began to tell my best friend about her LIFE experience. This young lady was about 7 months pregnant and just months before she had an appointment set up to abort her baby. She started to tell her experience…
When she was only a few months pregnant she went into the abortion clinic to have her baby removed. She frigidly waited her turn while many other young women were having abortions in the nearby room. The door opened and the doctor called her into the room to perform the procedure. She proceeded to the room and sat on the bed until the doctor returned. As she sat there ,she could hear an abortion being performed in the room next to her; you can actually hear the little feeble body being sucked out of his/her mother’s womb. At this point the young lady was very shaken up. So the doctor came back into the room asked her to remove her clothes and lay on the table. After doing so the doctor began fidgeting with her belly to find the baby. After minutes of searching, the baby was nowhere to be found. They both were stunned because the young lady knew for a fact that she was pregnant. So once again the doctor began to look for her baby; nothing. The doctor set up a separate appointment with an actual hospital to see if they could find the baby. The young lady agreed to the appointment and after hours with them, the baby was still undetectable. Time had passed and the young lady visited four different specialists and no one could find the baby. Following all of this confusion they concluded that the young lady was not pregnant, but that was not the case. Weeks passed and the young lady felt weird, come to find out the girl was pregnant all along, but the baby was hidden from any detections of life. Not one piece of all those doctors advanced equipment could find a trace of that baby’s life. When I heard the story I wept because I knew God hid her baby. At that point the young lady knew that her baby was destined to live. She recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and named him Jordan. "
What is the most Spirit-stirring experience you have encountered since becoming active with Bound4Life?
"Recently, one of my family members found out that they were pregnant. When she found out her first reaction was, “Hey I’m having an abortion” and she said it with no hint of budging. I literally cried and petitioned God. Here I am taking a stand for LIFE and someone so close to me is thinking about taking her baby’s life. So I began to intercede on behalf of that unborn child. I refused to even sleep! So after a couple of days in prayer I had a dream. In that dream my aunt and sister, who is also pregnant, were both sitting on two separate sofas across from each other. I walked into the area and sat on the side of my aunt and instantly my dream transformed into a vision, and in that vision my aunt’s stomach literally opened up. When her stomach opened a little girl about the age of 3 jumped out and grabbed my neck. She grabbed my face, looked me in my eyes and said “Thank you for saving me”. I awoke at once completely overtaken by the presence of God. All I could do is weep and pray harder. I kept saying and proclaiming “This baby will live”, “This baby will live”. Just a few days later I received a joyous phone call from my pregnant sister that was in the dream and she happily informed me that my aunt decided to keep her baby. What’s even more shocking is just a few days ago I received another phone call that not only was my aunt keeping the baby, but that she is actually giving birth to a girl. Just like my dream! I fell to my knees in sobs, completely overtaken with the joy of the Lord. This experience moved my spirit even more to petition heaven on behalf of the unborn. At that moment I BELIEVED that my prayers were not in vain! "
What do you hope to accomplish through Bound4Life?
"I hope to (through prayer and action) move people to care for the widows and the orphans that the bible speak of. Psalm 82:3-4 says “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” In modern day terms, care for the aborted ones, neglected children, hurt and battered women. Take action against injustice, not through violence and hostility, but through the love of Jesus Christ. We’re here to offer life and hope for pregnant women considering abortion, not condemnation. So it is my desire that the lives of these broken hearted women souls are saved, and mind set free! "
To find out more information about the Mobile Chapter of Bound4LIFE's next event, please visit their Facebook page by clicking the link above.
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