Chris Danze's efforts to shutter the Austin, Texas, Abortion clinic isn't his first successful battle against abortion. Danze and his wife, Sheri, have participated in prayer vigils outside Austin's four abortion clinics for several years. In February, they were praying outside Austin OB/GYN, the clinic of former late-term abortionist Peter Kropf.
“Dr. Kropf started wandering around outside while we were praying, and I could tell he wanted to talk to someone,” Danze said.
Danze approached him, and the two began a discussion about life, God, prayer and the Catholic faith. Kropf told Danze that he grew up in an atheist family in Budapest, Hungary, where he befriended a nun.
“He told me how this nun would take him to Mass, and he became an altar boy,” Danze said. “But his father, an atheist, eventually put an end to it when Dr. Kropf was only 12. So he grew up as an atheist.”
Outside the clinic, during their discussions, Danze and Kropf quickly became friends. The doctor decided to stop doing abortions, telling Danze he had performed about 12,000 of them over 12 years. Kropf invited Danze and his wife to his home for dinner. At Danze's insistence, Kropf agreed to meet for several hours with Julie Drenner, a pro-life lobbyist.
“After closing the clinic, Dr. Kropf told me he's never had so much peace since he was an altar boy,” Danze said. “I told him he wouldn't find true inner peace until he could become that little altar boy again and give up his adult pride. A few days later he went back to Budapest to visit that church.”
Kropf could not be reached for comment.
Danielle Tierney of Planned Parenthood said it's true that Kropf suddenly quit doing abortions, leaving other abortion providers to wonder why. She won't speculate on the validity of Danze's account.
“I did not talk to Dr. Kropf when he closed the clinic,” Tierney said.
Kropf's decision, for whatever reason he made it, reduced the number of abortion clinics to three.
— Wayne Laugeson