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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, August 23, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) — More than 1,000 people marched around Charlotte’s busiest abortion facility on Saturday praying for an end to abortion.

The event was organized by the pro-life group Love Life Charlotte and recruited participants from more than 40 local churches.

Love Life Charlotte is a 40-week campaign uniting and mobilizing local churches to become involved in pro-life advocacy in order to ultimately end abortion in the city, which is home to three abortion centers. The campaign’s length is based on the 40 weeks during which babies develop inside their mothers’ wombs.

The marchers were also there to offer support to mothers contemplating abortion, including free ultrasounds in a mobile unit from Pregnancy Resource Center of Charlotte.

Love Life Charlotte partners with community doctors and supporters to offer mothers free medical care, housing, and other resources.

“When I was a recent graduate, I decided … to move to Florida and my husband and I — who was then my boyfriend — got pregnant and I thought it was the worst thing that could have ever happened to me,” explained Illyana Smith, who participated in the event. “So we considered having an abortion and we drove to an abortion clinic. … No one was there to reach out to us. I was devastated; he was devastated. We actually walked into an abortion clinic and when I walked in there, it was just sadness and grief that came over me. … We left that day, by the grace of God, and we had an ultrasound a week later” and fell in love with our son, Christian. 

Christian is now nine years old and accompanied his mother to the march.

“I am so thankful that I chose life for him,” Smith said.

David Benham of the Benham brothers said he participated in the march not because he is simply against abortion but because he loves and supports life.

Past Love Life Charlotte events have drawn hundreds of people this summer.