40 Days For Life Kicks Off

Peaceful Way to Stand Against Abortion

SoCon or Bust reports the commencement of 40 Days for Life here.

Last year at about this time, I was in Tucson AZ, and was introduced to 40 Days for Life. As my headline says, it is a peaceful way to protest abortion. In Tucson, we gathered a distance away from an office where abortions were performed, and sat silently and prayed the rosary or other prayers on behalf of the unborn, their parents, especially their mothers, and for those who would take their lives. A vigil was maintained during all daylight hours, and in that time a couple of young women came out to the group who were at least 100 yards from the abortion clinic, and said that they had decided to keep their babies.

Many people that drove by waved encouragingly, although some gave angry, almost apoplectic glares along with a middle finger salute, which I assumed was not "Have a Nice Day".

It was orderly, and so very calm and peaceful. On the final day of the 40 days, the Bishop Gerald Kicanas joined us and assisted in a prayer service. As I met him, I was impressed by his own humility, and felt that the people of Tucson were in good hands.

For a few weeks, I was also able to join the abortion protesters when they met on Saturday morning on the street to pray for 90 minutes near the clinic. We held placards, and each prayed the rosary ourselves, as we were not together, but on different street corners. Again, most people waved encouragingly, and some even stopped to talk, speaking well and offering assistance, and good will.

However, one particular person who stopped left a lasting impression with me of the battle that wages in this fight to end abortion. You may recall that in England last Fall was a kerfuffle about a very young boy, 12 or 13, I think, who had apparently gotten a 14 year old or so girl pregnant and they had had the baby, and were going to keep it. The father of the boy had himself fathered many children by many women, so was a very good influence on his son.

One woman stopped her car, and came up to the woman who organised the 40 Days and also the regular picketing at the clinic, waggin her finger at her with an angry glare in her eyes. She blamed her and all of us who protested abortion claiming it was our fault that this girl had had this baby, and not had an abortion. She was so miffed about this England situation that it needed venting and so we, our leader in particular was a likely target. I would have liked to understand her logic, but am not sure I could have even if I discussed it with her directly.

Such is the world of abortion. I think that Pope Paul VI had a pretty good handle on where the world would head with reproduction technologies. I wrote a piece on it recently here.

If you have the opportunity to participate in 40 Days for Life, and are interested, I urge you to spend some time with them. You will meet some of the most peaceful people you will ever see.