One abortion is one too many,of course. So it’s always encouraging during a 40 Days for Life campaign when we see local abortion numbers DECREASE dramatically.
After we did the first 40 Days for Life campaign in Texas back in 2004, abortions dropped 28 percent in our community that year. As 40 Days for Life has spread to other cities, we’ve seen similar results. Today, we start with an AMAZING example where abortion numbers keep falling!
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
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Trudy sent me a graph showing Jacksonville’s abortion numbers over the past ten years. Abortions increased from 2002 through 2006. Starting in 2007, however, abortions have DECREASED every year.
What happened in 2007? Well, in the fall of that year, Jacksonville held its first 40 Days for Life campaign. Then in 2009, volunteers started Family for Life — daily prayer at the abortion centers Monday through Saturday. That’s more than 300 days of prayer every year!
In 2011, Jacksonville abortions reached a ten-year low. The Jacksonville team has already sponsored several events this campaign, including a Jericho march, in which prayer volunteers marched back and forth between two abortion facilities seven times.
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ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
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The sound of the shofar kicked off the second 40 Days for Life in Asheville. Mary Ann in Asheville said 100 people took part in the opening prayer vigil and procession, led by representatives of Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian and home churches.
People sang hymns and heard inspirational messages from a local pastor and a former abortion industry employee. “Hearts were deeply touched,” Mary Ann said.
From a very small start last fall, the Asheville effort has now expanded. Many churches now have members of their congregations signing up for prayer at the vigil, the leaders have gotten information about the campaign in a number of publications and team members have been able to speak about 40 Days for Life at meetings of various local organizations.
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DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA
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“God is moving big-time in Downey, California,” Tim wrote in the 40 Days for Life blog.
“He is stirring the saints to come out of the pews and onto the street to make a difference at the Family Planning Associates abortion facility in Downey,” he said.
Tim described how 40 college-age young adults stood in prayer and worship from 9 pm to midnight recently, and some of them were right back at the vigil outside the abortion center at 7:30 the following morning.
In just the first few days, eight babies were spared from abortion in Downey. “God is pouring out His Spirit,” Tim wrote, “just as He said He would.”
LifeNews.com Note: Shawn Carney is the campaign director for the 40 Days for Life pro-life prayer campaign against abortion. He is the director of the Coalition for Life.
