The group will hold training for pastorally helping mothers consider alternatives to abortion
By Jay Sorgi
for the Register
Lisa McInerney says she’s doing nothing more than extending invitations to women for thought, reflection, prayer and a choice for life—the human life inside them.
She and her Lincoln team work with Sidewalk Advocates for Life, a national organization of volunteers who go to the streets near abortion centers. Their goal is to pastorally, compassionately and non-confrontationally become present to a mother’s need as she discerns aborting a child, and help her see she can bring the child into the world.
McInerney said that the fire within her to act comes from what she calls “a holy discontent” within her.
“I’ve heard it called [that] for violations of human dignity in general,” said McInerney, the local program leader for Sidewalk Advocates for Life in Lincoln and a parishioner of North American Martyrs Catholic Church in the city’s Highlands neighborhood.
“Any time that someone’s dignity as a human being is not respected, I have this discontent in my heart that I want to do something about it.”
She said the longtime Lincoln pro-life leader Pam McCabe guided her and a friend to start the sidewalk program in 2019, all after McInerney began praying outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic.
“[I] ended up helping a young woman who was there with her mom,” she said, mentioning that the encounter followed a rosary recitation on the sidewalk that day.
“I can see this mother and high school-age daughter getting out of this car, and there’s nobody over there but me. I was like, ‘Can I help you?’ The daughter shook her head no and started walking towards the building, but the mom shook her head yes and was in tears.”
McInerney offered the mother a bag of informational resources and encouraged her to follow her daughter in to change their mind, praying as they were inside the clinic.
“I told [Pam] the situation so that she would know,” McInerney said.
“When I got home, I had a call from Pam that said that they changed their mind.”
She explained that encounters are not designed to be protests against abortion clinics, but simple times for personal presence. Each encounter brings its own unique situation, as every mother’s situation is different.
“I might just say, ‘I’d love to tell you about other healthcare options you have in the area,’” she said.
“We just try to use a friendly voice, a smile, and let them know that we’re not threatening in any way.”
The national organization reports its members have helped more than 26,000 women choose life for their children instead of having an abortion.
McInerney said that for every four individuals who head toward Planned Parenthood, perhaps one of them would verbally interact with Sidewalk Advocates for Life volunteers.
“It’s pretty rare that they’ll walk over to us,” she said, noting that some are willing to talk to them through their car window.
“Every once in a while, somebody will maybe go in for an appointment and then they’ll stop and talk to us on their way out.”
The conversation can steer numerous ways, but often her goal is to simply give mothers leaflets with information including listings of three pregnancy resource centers in the Lincoln area and national hotlines like Option Line and LoveLine, or information on women’s reproductive health from naturalwomanhood.org.
“We’ve had people who have said, ‘I had a positive pregnancy test in there,’” McInerney said. “We say, ‘Here’s a list of resources for you that you can consider in the community.’”
McInerney said her teams meet individuals outside a particular clinic for nearly half of the hours that the clinic is open throughout the week. Each individual team that volunteers for a few hours has received advocate or prayer partner training. They wear a branded safety vest, and have been trained on de-escalation and understanding free speech rights without infringing upon others’ first-amendment rights.
“We always have people pair it up so they’re covered with prayer, but also for safety reasons to not be there alone,” she said.
“It’s just to be peaceful, loving, law abiding... deescalating situations, treat everyone with love. Even if they don’t agree with us, it’s not to get into debates on the sidewalk out there, [but] we’re trying to do advocacy.”
In the end, her goal is to get women and families to bring their child to birth, even though she and her teammates will often never see the result of her ministry.
“A lot of times we don’t know the end of the story. We don’t know whether someone that we’ve gotten to the pregnancy center has chosen life or not,” she said.
“If they see that ultrasound, the odds are really huge that they are going to choose life.”
Sidewalk Advocates for Life will hold training sessions Sept. 19 and Nov. 7. People interested in joining McInerney on Sidewalk Advocates for Life can 402-525-9360 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Those interested in witnessing to the dignity of each human life may also participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign, praying peacefully outside the Planned Parenthood location in Lincoln. Shifts are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 23 through Nov. 1. Visit 40daysforlife.com/Lincoln to learn more.
