CHICAGO, March 12, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A top U.S. pro-life organization has challenged pro-lifers to turn the other cheek during this Lent in a new and unique way.
This year is not the first time Pro-Life Action League has called on people to pray for those in the abortion industry during the Christian holy season – but the 2015 campaign has a twist.
The pro-life group is asking pro-lifers to pray for abortionists who are in prison, especially for three of the most notorious abortionists in the industry: Brian Finkel, Kermit Gosnell, and the recently arrested Naresh Patel.
“With our recent focus on criminality in the abortion industry, I’m calling on pro-lifers to pray for three criminal abortionists this Lent,” said Pro-Life Action League Executive Director Eric Scheidler.
This call for prayer follows the league's having sent plastic handcuffs to abortionists across the nation on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, as part of a care package that also contained a photo of Patel and a signed note that said, “Could you be next? If you want to get out of the abortion business, give me a call.”
The three abortionists at the heart of the Pro-Life Action League campaign are not what immediately come to mind when thinking of Lenten holiness.
Finkel was convicted in 2003 of sexually abusing patients in his Phoenix abortion facility. He is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence.
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The nation became gripped with Kermit Gosnell's “House of Horrors” story, once the national media were chided into giving it coverage. Gosnell is serving life in prison for the murder of three babies whom he stabbed in the neck after they were born alive. Gosnell was also found guilty of prescription drug fraud, and he kept children’s feet from late-term abortions preserved in jars in his filthy abortion mill.
Oklahoma abortionist Patel was indicted in December 2014 for racketeering and fraud. He was caught giving women pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, then telling them they were pregnant when they were not, and selling them hundreds of dollars-worth of abortion drugs. He has also been accused of sexually molesting several of his abortion patients.
Scheidler admits given their heinous crimes, it can be difficult to pray for these men.
“These men – two of whom are in prison now, with the third likely to join them – are our enemies, and the enemies of all the unborn babies they killed and all the women they exploited,” Scheidler said. “But for that very reason, we must pray for them.”
“Jesus’s own words require us to do so,” he said.
Scheidler said that God loves them regardless of their past sins, and so he his calling for people to pray for the abortionists each day during Lent, and to fast from one meal a week for their conversion.
Reaction on the pro-life group’s Facebook page has been supportive.
“Praise God for what you are asking of us!” one Facebook user said. “God loves these people as you rightly said, and we should pray for them I think! This is love!”
“This a great idea and initiative, and so necessary!” another said.
“Glory be to God, you're really pushing the envelope for me!” one person said. “I rank these individuals equal or worse than ISIS. With that said, I can't argue with your request. Therefore, I'll give it my best effort.”
“Yes, I accept your challenge as difficult as it may be,” said another. “I will add these three to my daily Lenten prayers.”
“I’ll certainly pray for them, but this one is a tough penance offering during Lent,” another conceded.
The Pro-Life Action League also has a photograph and a video to share in the prayer challenge campaign. Details can be found here.
