LIFE DIGEST: Children being saved through 40 Days for life
- Oct 6, 2009 - comment
The nationwide 40 Days for Life campaign knows of at least 123 babies who have been saved from abortion less than a third of the way into the effort.
The latest 40 Days for Life campaign began Sept. 23 and will continue through Nov. 1. Tens of thousands of people in 212 cities in the United States, Canada and Denmark will participate in peaceful prayer vigils outside abortion clinics and Planned Parenthood offices, as well as in fasting for the end of abortion.
Also in this edition: Support for abortion remains in decline and Man charged in killings of woman, unborn child.
The initiative, which became a national movement two years ago, has produced reports of 1,561 children saved from abortion in four previous campaigns, according to 40 Days for Life.
David Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life, reported Oct. 5 on the following impact of the effort:
“Kristina and Michele in Syracuse [N.Y.] were praying in front of Planned Parenthood when two young women stopped to talk. One of the young women said she was pregnant and going to Planned Parenthood for an abortion.
“Instead, she was encouraged to visit a pro-life pregnancy resource center where she was offered a free ultrasound. ‘Long story short,’ said Kristina, ‘the girl decided against having the abortion. Praise the Lord!’
“‘To all those who are there with us in spirit and praying at home, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts,’ Michele added. ‘It is because of your prayers and God’s love and mercy that this young woman’s baby was saved.’”
There also have been reports of employees leaving the abortion business, Bereit said:
“Angela of the 40 Days for Life team in [Granite City, Ill.] said the abortion facility nurse came out and hugged her. ‘Thank you for praying for me,’ she told Angela. ‘Your witness has been powerful to me. This is my last day! I’m going off to do what real nurses should be doing.’ With that, she walked to her car and drove away.”
Information on the initiative and the locations of this fall’s prayer vigils may be found online at www.40daysforlife.com.
Support for abortion remains in decline
The American public continues to show a decline in its support for abortion rights.
A new survey of more than 4,000 adults found 47 percent said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, a drop of 7 percent since August 2008. Meanwhile, the poll showed 45 percent say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, an increase of 4 percent.
The results were similar to a survey of more than 1,500 adults in the spring.
Both nationwide surveys were performed by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press in conjunction with the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The most recent poll, released Oct. 1, was conducted Aug. 11-27.
Since 1995, all surveys, with the exception of the two this year and an August 2001 poll, have shown a majority of Americans favor legal abortion, according to Pew.
There was no apparent reason for the change in the public opinion, Pew said but suggested “the election of a pro-choice Democrat for president may be a contributing factor.”
President Obama gained election to the White House in November despite a legislative record in support of abortion without restrictions. Although he has promoted abortion reduction, Obama has acted to overturn restrictions on funding abortions and organizations that promote and perform the procedures
The survey showed the greatest decline in support for abortion was among white Roman Catholics, male Democrats and Republicans. The results demonstrated:
- A 10 percent drop in support for legalized abortion among white, non-Hispanic Catholics who attend mass at least once a week;
- A 9 percent decrease among Democratic men;
- A 7 percent fall among Republicans.
A survey conducted in May by a partnership between the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men’s organization, and the Marist Institute for Public Opinion found 49 percent of Americans describe themselves as pro-life, an increase of 5 percent since last October, and 48 percent identify themselves as pro-choice, a drop of 2 percent in that time span.
Man charged in killings of woman, unborn child
A Tennessee man has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her eight-month-old unborn child.
Tarance Nelson, 26, of Murfreesboro was arraigned Sept. 29, according to The Memphis Commercial Appeal. His girlfriend, Tonya Johnson, 36, was found dead Sept. 25 at her home in Arlington, Tenn., which is northeast of Memphis. Johnson was a third-grade, public-school teacher, the newspaper reported.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission works to protect the sanctity of human life. If you would like to learn more about this issue, additional resources are available here. If your church is interested in purchasing bulletin inserts or other materials on the sanctity of human life, please visit our online bookstore and erlc.com.