40-day vigil begins to end abortion

Intermountain Catholic

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SALT LAKE CITY — As night fell on Ash Wednesday, more than 100 people gathered on the sidewalk beside the Planned Parenthood Metro Health Clinic in Salt Lake City to kick off the biannual 40 Days for Life campaign.

SALT LAKE CITY — As night fell on Ash Wednesday, more than 100 people gathered on the sidewalk beside the Planned Parenthood Metro Health Clinic in Salt Lake City to kick off the biannual 40 Days for Life campaign.

The Salt Lake City kickoff was in conjunction with the beginning of 40 Days for Life vigils in 253 cities worldwide, said David Bereit, 40 Days for Life national coordinator. Campaigns have been conducted in 22 nations, including the United States; this year, three new countries began campaigns: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Croatia and New Zealand, said Bereit, who spoke at the Utah event.

Those participating in the local vigil will pray outside Planned Parenthood until April 12.

"The objective is to have people peacefully praying, and to have a pro-life presence during all the hours that the abortion facility is open during Lent," said Dominic Jones, who with his wife, Jeana, and others coordinated this year’s Salt Lake vigil.

Bereit founded the 40 Days for Life in 2004 in College Station, Texas. The campaign went national in 2007; the first vigil in Salt Lake City was in 2008.

The latest polling data show that the American public is more pro-life than ever before, Bereit said, adding that more than 2,300 Christian pregnancy centers that provide assistance for mothers in a time of need have opened throughout the U.S., "and at the same time that pregnancy centers are going up in number, the abortion industry is in its steepest decline ever."

Two-thirds of U.S. abortion centers have closed in the past 20 years, Bereit said. "We’ve also seen more pro-life laws passed in the last two years than the previous two decades combined. The reality is there is enormous hope."

Hearts and minds are being changed on the abortion issue, lives are being saved and those who have been wounded by past abortions are being healed, Bereit said. "We are seeing it happen because one at a time faithful people are answering God’s call to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. … When we … realize this is life and death, and when we are willing to step out in faith, God will hear our prayers, he will answer those prayers and he will continue to transform the world around us."

Bereit asked those at the kickoff event to consider committing to pray and perhaps fast specifically for the intention of ending abortion; to participate in the vigil; and to invite others to be part of the effort.

"If we do those three things – prayer and fasting, vigil and outreach – I believe that we will see many, many more amazing victories; many, many more miracles occur," he said.

Among those at the event was Christina Malloy, a Blessed Sacrament parishioner who also attends the Newman Center. This year was the first that she has participated in the vigil, although in 2010 she participated in the Crossroads Walk, another pro-life event. "Human life is precious and we need to protect it," Malloy said. "These babies are being killed before they get a chance to live outside the womb, and they need a chance."

Brett Little, a Saint Ambrose parishioner, also was at the vigil for the first time. The vigil, he said, is a way "to celebrate life [and] downplay the culture of death."

Two other 40 Days for Life events are planned: A screening of the documentary 40, about the aftermath of legalized abortion in America, will be shown Saturday, March 22, 6:30 p.m. at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, 300 East 118000 South, Draper. Free child care will be available. Also, the wrap-up potluck is Saturday, April 12, 6:30 p.m. at Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, 170 S. University St., SLC. For information, contact Jeana Jones, 801-582-1198 or visit http://40daysforlife.com/saltlakecity.html.