Since the start of its most recent campaign, 40 Days for Life reports that 189 preborn children – and their mothers – have been saved from abortion. The group organizes national and international pro-life prayer campaigns, and has 367 locations in the United States and in 23 countries.
From September 28 through November 6, pro-lifers will mobilize across the globe to pray for an end to abortion. Since its conception, 11,796 lives have been saved from abortion, 75 abortion facilities have closed, and 133 abortion workers have quit the industry.
This year, the group is traveling the country on its 40 Days for Life United tour bus. Campaign Director Shawn Carney notes:
“Some of the most unexpectedly enjoyable moments on the UNITED tour have occurred at gas stations as we filled up the 75-gallon tank. A number of folks have gotten out of their cars to share their stories, sign the bus … and sometimes even make a donation to help us with fuel.”
The Nashville rally welcomed U.S. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who chairs the House Select Investigative Panel probing into Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry’s role in the trafficking of fetal body parts. The 40 Days for Life campaign reports that Blackburn signed her name onto the United tour bus and rallied advocates to stand for life:
“U.S. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn — chair of the House panel leading the investigation into Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practice of harvesting and trafficking in aborted baby body parts — fired up the crowd at a big UNITED rally in Nashville and joined other attendees in signing the bus.”
In Kentucky, pro-lifers rallied together in Louisville. The chair of 40 Days for Life, Matt Britton, announced the event featuring advocates from Students for Life of America, Silent No More Awareness, and Heartbeat International. The group noted that they also had a “brief, respectful dialogue” with an abortion facility worker on the sidewalk of the location.
Four women also changed their minds in the first week of the 40 Days for Life campaign in St. Louis, Missouri, and were turned away from Planned Parenthood to a nearby pregnancy resource center. However, pro-lifers received opposition from Planned Parenthood staff:
“It wasn’t easy. Planned Parenthood wasn’t about to give up any customers. A counselor was trying to talk to one of the moms, but a Planned Parenthood employee came rushing up to yell, “Don’t listen to anything she says!” That frightened the young woman … but the counselor stayed calm and explained the free resources that were available at the pregnancy center right across the street.
In the end, the woman, whom Planned Parenthood sought to deter, chose life:
“She didn’t let the Planned Parenthood worker rattle her. She took up the offer of a free pregnancy test and ultrasound … and changed her mind about having an abortion.”
To learn more about 40 Days for Life and to find a campaign near you, visit 40daysforlife.com.
