It was a beautiful, crisp autumn morning as we stood in front of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis , Missouri . We were there to deliver God’s mail and put this hospital on notice.

Barnes-Jewish along with Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and Washington University in St. Louis have joined together to create the Family Planning Fellowship Program to train abortionists. Taken from the program’s website: “The objective of the program is to develop specialists focused on research, teaching, and clinical practice in contraception and abortion. Specifically, the Fellowship focuses on: All methods of pregnancy termination (ABORTION); all methods of contraception currently available and under investigation; practices, policies, and research relating to international contraception and abortion.”

We began with prayer and then stood at the intersection. Barnes-Jewish, ranked among the top ten hospitals in the United States , is located in a heavy traffic area where many drivers were able to view our signs as we fought the gusty winds.   

A reporter from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch interviewed us and asked why we were there. Angela explained to him Ephesians 5:11, “Have nothing to do with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” We pointed out the hypocrisy of an institution that prides itself on bringing life into the world and healing people to turn around and train medical students to take innocent lives. It is wrong and it is evil. This is not healthcare.

“If anything, we are out here to deliver God’s mail and to give Barnes-Jewish and the medical community free advertisement of what they do behind closed doors,” Angela told the reporter.

We received many honks of support and thumbs up. Some people even rolled their windows down at the red light and conversed with us. One woman told us about her grandson Gabriel, a little boy who is scheduled for heart surgery. She said, “God bless you for being here. Some people just don’t get it.” Another man in a truck rolled down his window and encouraged us saying, “God bless you. Thank you for being here.” 

The Hippocratic Oath, which many medical students take an oath to uphold, includes the statement: “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.” 

Barnes-Jewish is an abomination to Almighty God and they are breaking God’s heart. The prophet Jeremiah said to the kings and people of Judah regarding child sacrifice, “They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons and daughters in the fire as offerings to Baal- something I did not command or mention, nor did it ever enter my mind.” Jeremiah 19:5. Child sacrifice in America , let alone at a health care institution such as Barnes-Jewish, is not something that God commanded, mentioned, nor did it even enter His mind.

Currently, we are investigating Saint Louis University ’s involvement with this program as it was first reported to us, and stated on Wash U’s website. It has since been removed from their website. As a Catholic institution SLU knows this is wrong. 

After being confronted with this information, Fr. Paul Stark, SJ, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations and Advancement at SLU released this statement:

“Contrary to recently published information about content that was posted on another institution’s Web site, Saint Louis University has not collaborated in any way with Washington University in St. Louis in its participation in the Family Planning Fellowship program. Saint Louis University has no affiliation with the program and was unaware it had been erroneously linked in any way in the program description on a Web site. The offending Web content is not true and was not authorized by Saint Louis University . SLU has been assured that all information mentioning the University is being removed from the Web site.

Saint Louis University is committed to acting consistently with the teachings of the Catholic Church. As a Catholic and Jesuit university, Saint Louis University ’s mission, vision and values support the Catholic Church’s teaching and positions on abortion and contraception. The University does not and would not support or collaborate with any program that is in conflict with those positions.” 

Saint Louis University Hospital is a Catholic/Jesuit institution that claims in its mission statement to “exist for the glory of God and the health of God’s people…” They go on further to say, “We believe human beings are sacred because of their origin and destiny and have a right to life and a dignified death.”

Be encouraged ~Angela