Contact: Amber Dolle, 40 Days for Life, 804-852-2979
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 /Christian
Newswire/ -- "With the defeat of pro-life ballot
initiatives in Colorado and South Dakota, the election of an
ardent abortion advocate for president, and an increase in
the number of abortion proponents in the U.S. Senate and
House of Representatives, some pro-lifers may feel a sense
of despair today," said David Bereit, national campaign
director of 40 Days for Life. "However, we have every reason
to be optimistic about the profound pro-life shift that is
beginning to take place below the radar."
From September 24 through November 2, intensive 40 Days for
Life campaigns were conducted in more than 175 communities
in 47 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and
two Canadian provinces. For 40 days, people of faith and
conscience prayed, fasted, held peaceful vigils outside
abortion facilities, and conducted grassroots pro-life
outreach. Tens of thousands of people participated in this
history-making initiative.
"The facts speak for themselves," said Bereit. "More than
540 times during this fall's campaign, women who were
arriving for abortions changed their minds and decided to
keep their babies as a direct result of the 40 Days for Life
volunteers praying outside the abortion center. We are also
aware of a number of clinic employees who experienced a
change of heart and quit the abortion business due to this
effective pro-life outreach, and many abortion centers cut
back hours or closed for entire days during 40 Days for
Life."
Bereit said the life-saving impact of this effort cannot be
attributed to any elected leader or law. "It was the result
of people putting their faith into action right where they
live," he said. "We have now heard from people all across
North America that the conclusion of 40 Days for Life was
not an end, but merely a new beginning for ongoing local
pro-life efforts that will continue to save lives regardless
of who holds elective office. We look forward with great
anticipation to the next national 40 Days for Life
campaign." That campaign is scheduled to begin February 25.
"The winning presidential candidate ran on a nebulous
platform of 'change,' but 40 Days for Life provides
something far more powerful - hope. Hope demonstrates that,
with God's help, hundreds of lives can be spared from death
by abortion. This fall, a political battle was lost," said
Bereit, "but hundreds of lives were won. I am convinced that
those victories will have far greater impact."