In his new book, Two Patients: My Conversion from Abortion to Life-Affirming Medicine, Dr. John Bruchalski tells readers, “I was skilled at remaining lukewarm.” That skill might help explain how he grew up in a pro-life home, even attended the March for Life, but was able to perform abortions as part of his medical training.
But it was the “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” aspect of his personality, he confessed, that allowed him to perform abortions in the daytime and volunteer at a pregnancy help center at night.
Some of the abortions he performed affected him profoundly, including a partial-birth abortion; the doctor does not spare the reader the details of this now-banned brutal procedure.
Dr. Bruchalski’s conversion to pro-life was a process that began with a visit to Guadalupe in Mexico, where he distinctly heard a female voice asking, “Why are you hurting me?” In Medjugorje, a Belgian pilgrim approached him, asked him if he was a doctor, and told him she had a message from Mary for him.
But beyond his mystical experiences, he was also guided by a mentor who opened his eyes – and heart- to the fact that when dealing with a pregnant mother, he was really treating two patients.
With two and a half years left in his residency, he stopped performing abortion or sterilization procedures. As his book details, this led him on the path to dedicate his entire medical profession to the Lord and make it a life-giving proclamation of the Gospel.
This book will encourage pro-life advocates, challenge medical professionals, and open the eyes of many who have forgotten the second patient.