There are girls getting abortions in America today. Sometimes, I wonder if we forget. It’s been with us so long now — many of the people working for National Review know nothing else, come to think of it.

I’ve gotten into a habit of praying in front of an abortion clinic in lower Manhattan — Planned Parenthood on Margaret Sanger Square (I believe that cancelling was what the kids call virtue-signaling and quite half-hearted). I’ve long been a coward about that — so heavy is the evil and misery when you focus on what’s happening there. I’m struck by just how many people go in and out — clearly, there is more than abortion happening. But the abortion is real.

Just this morning, I watched as a young pro-life girl begged a boyfriend waiting for one of those girls in the clinic for an abortion to call her and tell her there is another way. Well-intentioned, she told him he’s going to regret it for the rest of his life. While I pray for miracles, the odds at this point were that the reality of a dead baby was near if not done. O Lord, help them with healing and forgiveness, if so.

When I stand in the cold and pray, I can’t help but to ask for forgiveness. Over 60 million abortions in nearly a half century. This is not a mere number. These are dead children. And what are we doing to end this? There are people who do devote their lives to being real hope in the lives of women who are pregnant and don’t know how to go about choosing life. (And I always like to point in the direction of the Sisters of Life, because they will help you. They’ve dedicated their lives to God for 27 years now for this work.) But everyone who opposes abortion because they see, frankly, the science clearly and so are convicted that this is a fundamental human-rights issue — we need to do more. In love, not anger.

A day or so ago I encountered two men — one black, one white – standing outside that same clinic with a bullhorn pointing out that babies are dying inside. “You know it’s a baby,” he would say to people walking in. The problem is, in many cases: They don’t know it’s a baby. Yes, it may be clear, and yet, what’s clear in this culture anymore? We’ve become a delusional people. So while I take some relief in the truth being said, Good morning, I want to help you might be a more successful approach. Sometimes a woman just needs one sign of hope.

We need to be signs of light and life in the world. I worry about beating an already beleaguered people over the head with facts that seem impossible to them.