Editorial
40 Days for Life allows us to bring healing to a broken world
The statistics reflect prayers answered.
One-hundred forty-five abortion centers closed. Two-hundred fifty-one abortion workers quitting their jobs. And 23,525 lives saved since 2007.
The above numbers speak volumes to how 40 Days for Life campaigns during the past 15-plus years have borne fruit.
And a recent ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court that the state’s new law protecting nearly all unborn babies did not violate the state’s constitution was also celebrated by pro-life Hoosiers.
The new law effectively shuttered abortion centers across the state by mandating that the few abortions that are now legal must take place in hospitals.
The first 40 Days for Life campaign taking place in the archdiocese after the law went into effect will still occur outside of Planned Parenthood facilities in Indianapolis and Bloomington, where abortions were previously performed. The centers are still open and offer some services, just not abortion.
The campaign is moving forward in Indiana because there is still much work to be done to move the hearts of Hoosiers to embrace and build up a culture of life. (See related story)
Planned Parenthood is still the nation’s leading abortion provider, even if it cannot now offer abortion in Indiana. And pro-life advocates praying in front of its flagship facilities in Indiana is an important way to continue asking for God’s intercession to turn the hearts of all Hoosiers toward life.
A campaign of prayer, fasting and peaceful activism, a nationwide 40 Days for Life has been held in the spring and fall since 2007 with the purpose of changing hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life and bringing an end to abortion. This year’s fall campaign will be held from Sept. 27-Nov. 5.
40 Days for Life is an international effort that seeks to end abortion through peaceful prayer vigils at abortion centers, and to raise community awareness of the consequences of abortion.
During the campaigns, individuals and groups pray during one-hour time slots in front of abortion centers around the world. The initiative offers us a unique opportunity to plant seeds of faith, hope and love where the unborn and their mothers are concerned, and it is a powerful example having people across the globe pray in unison for the unborn. It provides an opportunity for the Lord to do his work through us and convert hardened or uniformed hearts.
The Bloomington campaign will take place along the public right-of-way outside the Planned Parenthood facility at 421 S. College Ave. Parking is available at the meters along the street at $1 per hour. Do not park in the Planned Parenthood parking lot. To sign up, go to 40daysforlife.com/en/bloomington. For more information, contact Deacon Russell Woodard at 317-456-7722 or e-mail rbwoodard@ameritech.net.
The Indianapolis campaign will take place on the public right-of-way outside of the Planned Parenthood facility at 8590 Georgetown Road. Parking is available along Georgetown Road; do not park in the Women’s Care Center parking lot or at the industrial complex across from Planned Parenthood.
To sign up for one or more hours during the Indianapolis campaign, go to www.40daysforlife.com/en/indianapolis. For additional information, contact Linda Kile at 317-213-4778 or e-mail linda@goangels.org.
The central Indiana Knights of Columbus will host an overnight prayer vigil from 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 to 7 a.m. on Oct. 7 outside the Planned Parenthood center in Indianapolis. All are invited to participate.
To find other 40 Days for Life campaigns outside of the archdiocese, go to www.40daysforlife.com and select “Locations.”
Indiana is not the only state working to build a culture of life. South Carolina and Iowa recently passed pro-life legislation in hopes to build a culture of life. The South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the state’s six-week abortion ban in an Aug. 23 ruling, permitting that law to go into effect. Sadly, an Iowa judge issued a preliminary injunction in July temporarily blocking the state’s new “heartbeat” abortion ban, which prohibits most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, while a legal challenge to that law moves forward.
The approved legislation and legal challenges prove one thing: our work in the pro-life movement is far from over.
Our faith calls us to bring healing to a broken world, and the upcoming 40 Days for Life campaign is another chance to plant seeds to do just that.
This fall and beyond, may we be unwavering in our mission to build a culture of life.
—Mike Krokos