Pro-life advocates will be public witnesses for life this fall during peaceful pro-life demonstrations on thousands of street corners across the United States.
The annual Life Chain brings pro-lifers together in their local communities to pray for an end to abortion and share the truth about life in the womb. Now in its 33rd year, the outdoor event began in California and since has spread to more than 2,000 cities, large and small.
Typically, the event is held on the first Sunday in October, or Respect Life month. This year, however, because of Covid-19, organizers made several changes.
“Due to COVID-19, the Life Chain has two official dates: Sunday, October 4th, and Sunday, November 1st. Many Life Chains will be standing on alternative dates,” according to the Life Chain website.
Organizers are taking extra safety precautions and urging people to practice social distancing and wear masks, the Norfolk Daily News reports.
Click here to sign up for pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com
“As an outdoor event, local Life Chain committees are taking all appropriate precautions to ensure safety. Participants will be standing 20 feet apart, as has been done since 1987,” the website states.
Find a list of locations here.
With messages like “Abortion Hurts Women,” “Pray to End Abortion,” and “Jesus Forgives and Heals,” Life Chain participants have educated millions of passing motorists from streets and sidewalks across America. The goal is to gather pro-life people of all faiths to share the message that abortion destroys the lives of unborn children and hurts women.
Last year, Sharron Albertson, a national Life Chain coordinator, said they hear stories every year about how the events impact lives.
Albertson told LifeNews about one local coordinator’s story: “One year when I was beginning to question if being part of a Life Chain was worth the time, a woman stopped and asked who was in charge. The participants pointed to me and the woman came over and said, ‘See that little person in the back seat. I decided not to have an abortion because you all were here a couple years ago.’ She hugged me and got back in her card and drove off before I could think of anything to say.”
Peaceful witnessing is a key part of the Life Chain, as is prayer.
“We believe that it is time for the Church to fight for the unborn with spiritual weapons,” the website states. “The battle for life will not be won in the courtroom or the voting booth until it is first won in prayer. We call for pastors to lead the Church in repentance for our nation. When God’s people humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from their own ways, we believe that God will hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14-15).”
While Life Chains are promoted as religious, prayer-oriented events, organizers said they welcome non-religious pro-lifers to participate. Participants are encouraged to pray and/or solemnly reflect on the violence of abortion in a public place where they can witness to the truth about abortion in their community.
Since 1973, about 62 million unborn babies have been killed in supposedly “safe, legal” abortions. Hundreds of mothers also have died, and countless more have been scarred for life.
