To Rahim, the abortions became routine.
One patient after another. One case after another. Some involved surgical instruments, and over time, the tools became familiar to him. He rarely stopped to question what he was doing.
Rahim was a village doctor in Bangladesh. Part of his medical work included terminating pregnancies. It was simply another aspect of his medical service, just another case. Finances, family pressure, and societal expectations quieted any misgivings and convinced him he was helping his patients. He estimated he had a role in over 200 abortions. Rahim admitted even to pressuring his own wife into multiple abortions.
But when he attended a Journey of a Life-Giver training, the Holy Spirit confronted him with what he had spent years overlooking. As the facilitator explained abortion procedures in detail, Rahim saw the surgical tools once more. And realization hit him with devastating force. What had once seemed routine suddenly felt unbearable.
Until that moment, he had never truly considered the child in the womb. With the truth laid out in the training, he finally saw the tools for what they were: instruments of death. Heartsick, Rahim recognized the preciousness of those little lives and the gravity of what he had done.
Rahim recalls the moment distinctly:
“Something broke inside me. I realized I was not helping, but destroying life. I felt like a murderer…I saw those tools again with understanding…Through the training, I understood the value of life and the weight of my actions.”
But the Holy Spirit did not leave him in despair. As the Journey of a Life-Giver training continued, Rahim encountered more of the truth of Scripture and the hope of the Gospel. The training led him toward confession, repentance, and healing. As the Holy Spirit worked, Rahim turned toward the Father and aligned himself with God’s heart for life.
Nearly 20 years into his medical career, one training completely transformed the way he viewed both his profession and the lives entrusted to his care. Now, Rahim approaches his practice with a different perspective and fresh fervor. “I cannot change the past, but I can refuse to continue. I choose now to protect life, not destroy it.”
For years, those abortion instruments represented a way to end life.
Today, they remind him why every life is worth defending.
This is why LIFE International equips leaders with the Father’s heart for life. We bring biblical truth. We train, disciple, and send. And the Holy Spirit brings conviction that leads to repentance, healing that leads to restoration, and courage that leads someone from destroying life to defending it.
As we set out into the field again, we pray, Lord, do it once more.
*to preserve the privacy of our ministry partners, the names in this story have been altered
