News

Monday March 22, 2010


40 Days for Life Celebrates 2,500 Babies Saved During Campaigns

Commentary by David Bereit, National Coordinator, 40 Days for Life

March 22, 2010 (40daysforlife) – As the dust settles following the devastating U.S. House vote that imposed abortion coverage and government funding of abortion under the guise of health care, many people are feeling a sense of despair today.

But Jeremiah 29:11 clearly instructs us: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Even in the midst of this darkness, God has given us more than 2,500 reasons to have great hope. And that hope is because of YOU.

This past week, 40 Days for Life reached a milestone. In this, the sixth coordinated, simultaneous 40-day campaign of prayer and fasting, constant vigil and community outreach, we now know of … more than 2,500 babies … saved from abortion during these campaigns!

The exact total is currently 2,536. We’re aware of numerous sets of twins — and at least one set of triplets — included in that count.

Not only have 2,536 babies been spared from abortion, but the impact was also felt on each of their mothers and fathers.

So that’s roughly 7,500 lives directly impacted by your prayers and the mercy of Almighty God!

Add to that grandparents, siblings, friends — it’s staggering to think about the number of people positively affected each time a mother chooses life.

And for this campaign alone, the total stands at 368 babies saved … that we know of. Of course, only God knows the true total.

The 40 Days for Life campaigns in New York City have reported more than 20 turnarounds this campaign. The good news is that prayer is effective; the challenge is that New York is the abortion capital of the United States.

The 40 Days for Life campaign in Queens is being conducted in an area the prayer volunteers call “abortion row.”

It may look at first glance like these people in the photo on the right are praying outside a donut shop — but that’s not the case. The donut shop just has the misfortune of being right between two abortion facility entrances.

To the left, there’s Women’s Health Care. To the right, Jackson Heights Women’s Medical. Because of the neighborhood they’re in, both businesses have signs in Spanish.

The prayer volunteers are often hassled for being there. But they know that’s where they have to be in order to make a difference.

We’re often told that it’s useless to stand outside the abortion center because women arriving for appointments have already firmly decided that abortion is the right “choice.”

Time after time, that abortion industry maxim is proven wrong.

In Southfield, Michigan, 40 Days for Life vigil participants met a woman who was walking into the abortion facility. They spoke to her briefly, and learned that abortion was the “choice” of her mother and boyfriend — she was being pressured into it.

As she walked into the building, one of the volunteers told her that free help was available just up the street at a pro-life pregnancy center.

That apparently struck a chord.

She recalled that this pro-life center had helped a friend of hers. So while she was in the waiting room at the abortion facility, she called her friend. The friend soon arrived, walked into the building — and the two women then left together to go to the pro-life resource center.

The young woman then called her mother to explain why she was refusing to abort her child.

As one of the Southfield volunteers said, “Praise God for using us and this incredible live-saving team he has put together in our community!”

This article reprinted with permission from www.40daysforlife.com