Florida Catholic | Catholics join other pro-lifers for 40 days of prayer and presence at abortion clinics

For ‘40 Days’ it’s prayer, fasting and presence

Catholics join other pro-lifers for 40 days of prayer and peaceful vigils at abortion clinics.

JANET SHELTON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC ST. PETERSBURG BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 10.09.08

JANET SHELTON | FC
Knights of Columbus knight Andy Leopold of Holy Family Parish joins over 100 people Sept. 24 who held signs and prayed outside Mary’s Outreach in St. Petersburg.

ST. PETERSBURG | 40 Days for Life, a pro-life campaign that combines prayer, fasting and peaceful vigils outside abortion clinics, is taking place through Nov. 2 in Clearwater and St. Petersburg.

Almost a week into the campaign, diocesan Life Ministries director Sabrina Burton Schultz said she was pleased with the response.

“Overall, it’s going very well,” she said. “It’s overwhelmingly positive and it’s engaging people who have never been engaged in pro-life efforts before.”

Those seeking an end to legal abortions have staged 40 Days campaigns in more than 179 cities this year. Organizers say the combination of daily peaceful protest and prayer have reduced abortion numbers. The first 40 Days campaign took place in 2004 in Texas.

JANET SHELTON | FC
As Life Ministries Director Sabrina Burton–Schultz explains the information, Diocesan Vicar General Father Robert Morris holds an acceptable sign and a booklet of daily devotionals designed to help people pray and reflect during 40 Days. Father Bob Gangolu of St. Paul Parish is standing next to Father Morris.

This is the first time the St. Petersburg Diocese has participated in 40 Days, and it has been joined by pro-life groups from other religious denominations.

Two clinics where abortions are performed were selected as campaign sites: All Women’s Health Center, 4131 Central Ave., St. Petersburg; and Women’s OB/GYN Center of Countryside, 28960 U.S. 19 N., Suite 110, Clearwater.

The campaign emphasizes that through peaceful presence those dedicated to the unborn can change minds and save lives. Unlike some of the pro-life campaigns of old, it does not include graphic pictures, condemning messages or confrontations with abortion clinic staffers and clients. Burton Schultz said 40 Days employs the strongest gifts of pro-life advocates: compassion, recognition of the power of prayer and fasting, and a willingness to put their beliefs and knowledge in the public forum.

“We want to be the face of Christ,” Burton said. “One of the best things about 40 Days is it puts a positive face on the pro-life movement.”

The local 40 Days kicked off with a Sept. 21 rally, attended by Bishop Robert N. Lynch and more than 200 other people, outside the Women’s OB/GYN Center of Countryside. The St. Petersburg location opened Sept. 24.

“Friends, we are going to close this place (the clinic that performs abortions) down,” Burton Schultz told the St. Petersburg crowd Sept. 24. “We’re going to be here rain or shine – barring hurricanes or lighting.”

At each site, participants were told only to carry diocese-provided signs: One was imprinted with the 40 Days logo and a Scripture reading; another offered healing support through Project Rachel for women who have had abortions. Those joining the movement were asked to sign an agreement saying they would follow the rules of the campaign, including respecting the property of clinics and their neighbors.

Maureen Baeten of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Gulfport attended the opening night in St. Petersburg. Holding a sign that read “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you – God,” Baeten said she long has been “very pro-life” in all areas and has worked to instill those values in her children. Her efforts, she said, include helping single moms before and after the children are born.

“I’m begging God to overturn Roe v. Wade and (praying) that people have compassion on people in the womb,” she said. “We do what we can do to support life.”

Participants at the St. Petersburg site gathered outside Mary’s Outreach, a pro-life program that provides assistance and compassion to women facing an abortion decision due to unplanned pregnancies. Mary’s Outreach neighbors All Women’s Health. Susan Dwyer, a Mary’s Outreach founder, said women sometimes come to their site for a pregnancy test or after talking about an abortion at the clinic next door. Dwyer said she and her volunteers served about 650 women and 880 children last year.

“The abortion rate is decreasing,” she said. “We have reduced … abortions.”

Gabrielle Howard, 13, and Mary Alice Burke, 15, both of Transfiguration Parish in St. Petersburg, held 40 Days signs in the air as they stood on the curb of Central Avenue Sept. 24. Most of those passing in cars gave no response; a few people honked and waved to the pro-life crowd. As Gabrielle talked about her experiences on the protest line, a man driving past screamed an obscenity.

“It’s been a little different,” Gabrielle said. “It’s been good – a lot of people honk. Some … people give you ‘looks.’”

Alexa McGrory of the Tampa Chapter of Silent No More knows well the pain of an unplanned pregnancy and the emotional suffering of an abortion. In Silent No More, women who have had abortions work to raise awareness among other women, and in the larger community, about the lasting negative impact an abortion has on a woman. Standing with her husband outside Mary’s Outreach, McGrory kissed the toes of her 1-year-old daughter and talked about her struggle to forgive herself.

“Abortion is a permanent decision to a temporary condition,” she said. “Post-abortive women really suffer.”

For more information on 40 Days and to register for a time and site, contact Burton Schultz at 727-345-3338 or sab@dosp.org; or Francesca McEntegart at 727-452-0641 or francescattm@gmail.com.

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