This past Lent, the pro-life campaign group 40 days for life conducted its most successful campaign in London.
Three prayer vigils were organised in London at BPAS Bedford Square, Marie Stopes Whitfield Street and Marie Stopes in Ealing.
40 days for life is a locally organised community initiative encouraging Christians to pray for an end to abortion.
Prayer vigils were organised outside of abortuaries with the intention of saving lives and inspiring hearts and minds.
The organisers estimate that there were a total of 36 babies’ lives spared from abortion during the campaign in London alone. These are just the stories we know about.
An ambulance was called to the Ealing Marie Stopes five times during the campaign. The building was formerly a Christian house of healing before it became an abortion centre.
Many volunteers have witnessed the powerful efficacy of prayer and the transformative influence of bringing hope. The campaign helps to show that there is love in the local community and that women in difficult pregnancies can choose life for their unborn children.
In total for this last campaign, there were 10 vigils around the country also in Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Manchester, Southampton, Milton Keynes and Leamington Spa.
To find out more information about bringing the campaign to your city, please visit the 40 Days for Life website.
Some of the features and benefits of the campaign include: saving lives, getting people involved with pro-life activities for the first time, leading post abortive women into proven healing programs, developing dynamic leaders to help pro-life efforts, bringing Christians together in a historic display of unity, generating prominent pro-life media coverage (even from biased outlets) and making the sanctity of human life a crucial issue for your local community.
In total, 550,000 people have participated in 19 countries around the world, saving 7,408 lives from abortion, seeing 29 abortion facilities close and 79 abortion workers leave their jobs.
The following are some stories from our campaign (courtesy of the Good Counsel Network).
Shirley
Shirley came to see us after being met at a Marie Stopes abortion centre. She had lost her hostel place through some foolish behaviour after having too much to drink. She wasn’t a regular drinker, but she knew on this occasion she had overstepped the bounds.
Her local council refused to re-house her and even when she found out she was pregnant, they still continued to say she could not be housed.
Shirley doesn’t agree with abortion, but after spending a night sleeping on the street, terrified, at 6 weeks pregnant, Shirley went to her doctor and the only help he could offer was abortion. So she found herself at the abortion centre.
Marie Stopes offered: abortion.
Pro-choicers' offered : to defend her right to abortion.
Pro-lifers offered: free accommodation while we worked to get her accepted back into the housing system; moral support and friendship as she went through her pregnancy.
Outcome: Shirley accepted our offer and has chosen to continue her pregnancy. She wants to join us in praying and offering help at the abortion centres.
Maria
Maria met us during a 40 Days for Life Campaign some time back. From the moment we met her she continued to veer between the idea of aborting and planning how to keep her baby.
The baby was unplanned. Her relationship, though it had lasted for years, had finished a month before she found out she was pregnant. Now her ex had come back to make sure she had the abortion.
Maria had grown up in a single parent home and didn't want the same for her child. But she hated the idea of abortion. "If only I could believe that I could do it," she said over and over again.
Maria was also still in the probation period of her new job and could not afford to survive if she lost that job.
Prayers were offered unceasingly for her, and - her story is quite famous now - not only was the abortuary closed on her next visit, but as she approached 20 weeks she panicked and re-booked her abortion, only to find - after a night of prayer from so many supporters - that the operating theatre had suffered a small fire and was unusable.
We offered her lots of support and she chose to continue the pregnancy. She was delighted when she passed the 24 week limit as she felt she could no longer be put under pressure to abort.
BPAS offered:abortion.
'Pro-choicers' offered:to defend her right to abortion.
Pro-lifers offered:moral support, friendship, practical help when the baby was born and financial support to make up for her partner withdrawing from paying his share of the rent.
Outcome:Maria chose life for her baby. Eventually he came to see a scan of their child and is now supporting her to bring up their child. She has now got a permanent position with her firm and is delighted with her child.
We work closely with the Good Counsel Network and you can financially support their work here.