Want to save lives from where you are sitting right now? You can!

A few years ago, a post asking for help on a pro-life Facebook group caught my eye. A young girl considering abortion was seeking advice on Yahoo! Answers, and the person on Facebook wanted pro-lifers to respond. (For those of you unfamiliar with Yahoo! Answers, the website allows users to ask questions and receive answers from other individuals online.) Multiple people from the group responded and encouraged the woman to keep her baby. The effort paid off, and the girl chose life for her unborn child.

Though excited over one life saved, seeing the Yahoo! Answers question made me wonder how many other young women were looking for abortion advice online. A quick search for questions containing the word “abortion” gave me the answer: almost every half hour, someone used Yahoo! Answers to ask about abortion.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. If a girl chooses abortion in order to conceal the pregnancy from friends and family members, then she is unlikely to ask for abortion advice from those same people. Girls are left with a choice: braving the confusion of an unplanned pregnancy alone or seeking advice from strangers.

Since this discovery, I have answered abortion questions whenever possible. Often the results are depressing. The questioner never responds, or worse, she responds stating that she has opted for abortion. Occasionally, however, there is good news. A girl decides to go to a crisis pregnancy center rather than Planned Parenthood, or realizes that short-term discomfort is worth it for saving the life of her precious child. I still remember my excitement a couple years ago upon opening an e-mail that began, “You’re right. I do want to keep this baby.”

This is where you come in. Questions about abortion keep coming, and though I’ve noticed an increase in pro-life answers, many questions still go unaddressed. We need more pro-life individuals who will take the time to help these women. Are you willing to help?

First, create a Yahoo! account. (If you use any form of Yahoo! Mail, the account is the same. Users can also sign in with Facebook or Google accounts.) Next, go to Yahoo! Answers and search for questions containing the word “abortion.” Click on the button that says “newest,” and the most recent questions will appear. Choose a question, and start answering!

Obviously answers will vary, but below are some general guidelines to responding.

• Be personal.

Some pro-choice answers are incredibly generic and look like spam. They hardly answer the girls’ questions, but they are always anxious to direct her to the nearest Planned Parenthood clinic. Don’t follow their example. Respond conversationally, addressing any specific issues and needs that the questioner has discussed. If you are a student talking to another student, clarify that you understand how frightening an unplanned pregnancy would be at your age. If you have faced an unplanned pregnancy before, tell your story. Building credibility in a one-sided online conversation is difficult, but the more real your response, the better.

• Be positive.

Sadly, pro-life answers are sometimes limited to “YOU’RE A MURDERER!” or “If you have an abortion you will go to Hell!” Criticism of women in such a vulnerable and fragile situation does little to help. Speak the truth with sympathy, grace, and love. Replace condemnation with compassion, and offer help and advice to the girls who are in need rather than focusing on actions of their past. Remember that women who choose abortion are also victims of the abortion industry’s “no regrets” lie.

• Be patient.

Like with any pro-life activism, if you expect immediate results, you’re in for disappointment. But are months of discouraging results worth it to help save the lives of children and spare mothers from a life of regret? Absolutely.

Online counseling gives pro-lifers the ability to reach out to pregnant women before they ever set foot in the abortion clinic. Next time you are wasting time online, spend some time answering questions instead. Log out of Facebook. Take a break from laughing at memes. Pause the YouTube video. Drag yourself away from Pinterest. It could make the difference in a life-or-death decision.

Below are some websites that may be helpful when answering various questions:

Option Line

Life Issues Institute 4-D Ultrasound Images

Life Issues Institute Fetal Development Images

Students for Life

Rachel’s Vineyard

Silent No More Awareness

Live Action on Facebook