WASHINGTON, D.C., March 5, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – It's Ash Wednesday, which means it's time for Lent – and time for the spring campaign of 40 Days for Life. The pro-life vigil will run in 253 cities in ten countries.
National Campaign Director Shawn Carney said that the organization is launching the campaign on the heels of good news. “We hope that the trend of local abortion centers closing continues this spring. Recently, we received news of the first international abortion center closing in London after five 40 Days for Life campaign were held outside their doors.”
“Over the past few years we’ve seen God use 40 Days for Life to help workers leave, like former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson during the Fall 2009 campaign,” Carney told LifeSiteNews.com. “Last summer the Planned Parenthood where she worked and where 40 Days for Life began closed its doors for good. It is one of 44 abortion centers that have closed their doors following a 40 Days for Life campaign.”
Carney said the spring campaign is purposely aligned with Lent. “There are two campaigns per year, one in the fall and one in conjunction with the season of Lent that ends on Palm Sunday. After the first nationally coordinated fall campaign in 2007 many people and clergy encouraged us to have a second campaign during Lent because of the 40 day time period and the season of fasting and sacrifice. The first Lent campaign in 2008 had 59 cities and this Lent we have 253 cities so the growth has been inspiring and a powerful witness as people go out to pray in cold weather.”
Success, according to Carney, has been widespread. “We've seen 8,245 moms choose life for their babies at the last moment – those are just the ones we know about. 40 Days for Life is built on prayer and the approach of going out peacefully to the places where abortions actually happen has attracted over 600,000 participants over the last 7 years.”
“Over 30% of those volunteers tell us that 40 Days for Life was their first pro-life activity,” says Carney, “so we hope to continue to draw more new people into helping end the greatest injustice of our generation.”
Carney says 522 cities in 21 countries have seen campaigns since 40 Days for Life launched in College Station, Texas.
A San Francisco University nursing student who is participating in the campaign in that city said the goal is not to protest, but rather “to help out the mothers. We want to be here to be a friend and help them have a happy life.”
Most campaigns will be held in the United States. Other nations with campaigns include Canada, Australia, the UK, New Zealand, Spain, Croatia, Russia, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.