Abby Johnson, the Planned Parenthood clinic director who made headlines in October after she walked off the job and joined a pro-life group down the street, has experienced hostility from an unlikely source: her own congregation.

For two years, she and her husband, Doug, have attended St. Francis' Episcopal Church, a 25-year-old congregation in College Station, within the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. With an average Sunday attendance of 72, it became a parish just this year.

Mrs. Johnson’s becoming a pro-life activist has raised such tensions that she is reconsidering her membership in the parish.

“People have told me they disagree with my choice,” she said. “One of the things I’ve been told is that, as Episcopalians, we embrace our differences and disagreements. While I agree with that, I am not sure I can go to a place where I don’t feel I am welcome.”

Mrs. Johnson, who grew up Southern Baptist, took years to find a church that would accept her. She interned at Bryan Health Center, a clinic operated by Planned Parenthood of Southeast Texas, while a student at Texas A&M. She became the clinic’s director in 2007 at age 27. Her youth was a good match for the clinic’s college-age clientele.

A Baptist church and a nondenominational church both declined to welcome her as a member.

“They have said, ‘You can’t go here because you work at Planned Parenthood,’ ” she said. “That’s not right. What kind of ministry is that? It’s been very difficult for us.”

From time to time, “It felt there was a spiritual conflict in what I was doing, but you just begin to rationalize it,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave these women without options, so you begin to think you are doing the right thing, although it doesn’t feel right.”

She and her husband, who was raised Lutheran, stayed home from church until they discovered St. Francis', where her occupation was not an issue. If anything, she thought, members of the church approved.

“I thought that because this church was so accepting, maybe I was doing the right thing,” she said. “A lot of people would consider the Anglican faith a pro-choice faith.”

The Rev. John Williams, the rector, “made it really clear we were welcome” at the parish, she said. The Johnsons were confirmed there and their daughter, now 3, was baptized. The Johnsons appear in a group photo on the front page of the church’s website.

Her moment of truth came in late September, when she was asked to assist in an ultrasound-guided abortion. Seeing a 13-week-old fetus flinching from the abortionist’s probe, then “crumpling” as it was vacuumed out of the uterus, unnerved her. She struggled for two weeks.  Then, on Oct. 6, she resigned and offered to work with Coalition for Life down the street.

Her choice soon made headlines, as did her decision to join with protesters gathered for a 40 Days for Life prayer vigil outside her former workplace. Planned Parenthood filed a restraining order to silence her, which a judge threw out of court Nov. 10. Meanwhile, Mrs. Johnson appeared as a guest on Fox News Channel’s O’Reilly Factor and Huckabee. She flew to Nashville to complete arrangements with a public relations firm to handle her speaking engagements. She accepted a new job as manager of an obstetrics and gynecology clinic.

Back at her parish, people began buttonholing her after services about her new convictions. Another employee of Planned Parenthood suddenly dropped out of the church’s worship services. Mrs. Johnson says that staff member was ordered to avoid services that Mrs. Johnson attended.

Rochelle Tafolla, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Southeast Texas, said her organization had nothing to do with that employee’s decision. She said the employee decided on her own not to attend St. Francis because she did not wish to encounter Mrs. Johnson.

Fr. Williams declined comment on how he planned to deal with the division in his church, by far the smaller of the two Episcopal parishes in town.

“I do not intend to be dismissive,” he wrote in an email, “but my pastoral responsibilities to this faith community preclude making public comments. I am sure you understand how important it is for me to foster healthy communication around this emotional issue.”

Mrs. Johnson says she is trying to hang on.

“We really, really love that church,” she said. “We don’t want to leave.”

Julia Duin

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