Who We Are
Saving Lives through Courageous Action
The Beginning
It began with a peaceful sit-in conducted on March 5, 1981 by four young adults (Michael Gaworski, Paul O’Donnell, Gary Gaworski and Bill Vouk) inside the Planned Parenthood abortion center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Since then, Pro-Life Action Ministries has been on the front lines of the abortion battle, working diligently to save the lives of God’s precious little children each and every day, with the ultimate goal of helping to end abortion altogether.
Throughout the years, our ministry has taken on this battle through many varied means. From our early years of sit-ins, small rallies, rescues and the deep commitment of the faithful few to later years with demonstrations of as many as 4,500 participants, educational campaigns, prayer vigils and much, much more, we have sought to be true to our calling as a ministry to save babies and their mothers from the horrors of abortion.
Through God’s grace, we have been able to document more than 3,600 babies that have been rescued from abortion through our ministry supported by hundreds of selfless volunteers and generous financial gifts. We are grateful for all who stand with us!
40 Years of Life-Saving Work!
March 5, 2021 marked the 40th anniversary of Pro-Life Action Ministries.
We started out under the name P.E.A.C.E. of Minnesota
and were renamed Pro-Life Action Ministries in 1986. This ministry was the first organized sidewalk counseling (sidewalk counseling had already been taking place in many locations, but more as individuals filling the void) in the nation and shortly after coming into existence, was training new sidewalk counselors on a national basis. Forty years later, we have documented 3,550 babies’ lives saved from death by abortion.
In the very early years, we brought attention to abortion with bold actions like sit-ins and demonstrations. At that time, almost no one was paying attention to the killing of our unborn brothers and sisters. In 1984 we conducted our first All-Day Good Friday Prayer Vigil. About two dozen of us were in attendance. The 2019 Solemn Good Friday Vigil (the last one prior to COVID-19) had about 3,800 in attendance.
I was the first full-time employee hired, starting March 1, 1986 (I had been a volunteer since the summer of 1981), Debra Braun was the second a month later. January 13, 1987 was the date of the discovery of the remains of thirteen aborted babies in Robbinsdale with press coverage, funeral and burial. Within a few years, our co-founders, Michael Gaworski, fbp, and Paul O’Donnell, fbp, (both now with the Lord) had left the ministry in our hands.
We took on Planned Parenthood, which we continue to engage daily. We started covering all the area abortion facilities, many of which no longer exist. Our pickets and demonstrations became prayer rallies and vigils. We engaged in the large rescue missions starting in 1988 with hundreds of arrests, some jail time and even civil court injunctions. We boycotted Target Corporation for a decade, challenged both the Ramsey and Hennepin County commissioners, started a post-abortion effort named the Abortion Aftermath Center and launched an outreach to former and current abortion employees named the Society of Centurions of America under the direction of the late Joan Appleton, RN. We purchased and later remodeled the property adjacent to the abortion facility in Robbinsdale, our house of prayer named the Chapel of the Innocents.
We expanded into new areas including Duluth, Minn. and Orlando, Fla. We started an all-out effort to get the abortion facility within Regions Hospital closed, which culminated in success after organizing 40 Days for Life campaigns there during a four-year period. In 2011 we held the first National Sidewalk Counseling Symposium (NSCS) for the purpose of creating new and building up existing sidewalk counseling efforts across the country. After seven NSCSs, we recognized that purpose had been fulfilled.
These are just few highlights of our work throughout the years. I look forward to the day when we can close down this ministry because we have fully accomplished our mission, saving every precious life we can each and every day they are threatened with death and helping bring an end to the killing altogether.
Brian Gibson, Executive Director
