October 26, 2012 / MariaNews.com

Three Abortion Workers Quit 

From Shawn Carney / 40 Days for Life

When a 40 Days for Life vigil is just getting  started, abortion workers first consider you a  religious zealot, then a radical. As time goes on, you’re seen as someone who simply has nothing better to do with your time.

But toward the end of the campaign, you become a question for them. The stereotypes wear off and the abortion center staffers see you as a human being … and they ask themselves the question, ”What good do I really do here?”

We are now at that point.

During this campaign, we’ve had reports of three abortion center employees who have left their jobs and a few others are thinking about it. In the majority of these cases, the stories will remain confidential.

When former Planned Parenthood director Abby Johnson experienced a conversion, quit her job and walked into my office at the Coalition for Life next door, she lost not just an income but close personal friends.

These workers will experience the same. So please keep them in your prayers as they transition out of the abortion business and find hope and healing.

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THE VISITOR’S WIFE
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At one 40 Days for Life vigil, a man walked up to the prayer volunteers with a request. “My wife works in there,” he said, pointing towards the abortion center.

“I am against abortion and I’m trying hard to convince her to quit,” he said. “Would you pray with me to get her out of there?” Of course, the vigil participants did just that.

Another volunteer reports that an abortion center employee stopped on her way in and struck up a conversation, asking — very sincerely — why there were people outside praying. She listened intently, took some pro-life information from the volunteer, and promised to study it.

The leaders at one 40 Days for Life location have been watching as employees come and go, and the turnover has been noteworthy. Over the past few years, more than 20 people have quit and been replaced. The local 40 Days for Life team is not sure if all of these people have changed their minds about abortion, but it’s certainly clear that this facility has a hard time retaining staff.

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THE ABORTION CENTER EMPLOYEE
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At another 40 Days for Life location, there’s been a very clear change of heart. There was an employee who would come out of the office — and criticize prayer volunteers for harassing women entering the building.

One day, however, there seemed to be something different. The employee appeared upset, and said they really didn’t want to be there, but needed the job.

A volunteer briefly told of how Abby Johnson had left Planned Parenthood — and wrote about her experiences in a book called “Unplanned.” The worker grabbed a smart phone. Volunteers think it may have been to Google “Abby Johnson” right there on the spot.

Several days later, one of the vigil participants saw this employee while out shopping — and the employee said the people praying were not really harassing women. This worker hasn’t been seen at the abortion center since then.

Read More: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=3636

Find a 40 Days for Life Campaign near you here.

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June 7, 2012 / MariaNews.com 

Abby Johnson on Exposing the Lie of the Abortion Industry

Pro-Life blogs across the web are abuzz about the recent announcement from Abby Johnson.

On Monday, June 11, Abby  and other former abortion workers will host a worldwide webcast to publicly reveal the shocking secrets that happen behind the closed doors of the abortion industry.   Using their insider knowledge they uncovered a step-by-step blueprint STOP ABORTION!

For those who may not be familiar, Abby Johnson is the former Planned Parenthood director, who one employee of the year in 2008.  She experienced a conversion during a 40 Days for Life campaign after she witnessed an ultrasound-guided abortion.

Today, Abby is one of the pro-life movements most respected leaders.

In an email to supporters, 40 Days for Life co-founder, David Bereit encouraged supporters to register even if they cannot attend the webcast, “go ahead and register now so you’ll be notified once the recording is available.”

Here are the details:

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April 14, 2012 | MariaNews.com 

FOXNEWS.com – A prayer campaign launched by a California Planned Parenthood affiliate has angered pro-life groups who claim the counter-campaign mocks their own “40 Days for Life” effort.

Officials at Six Rivers Planned Parenthood (SRPP) in Eureka, Calif., launched “40 Days of Prayer” last month and has offered up daily prayers for pregnant women and clinicians who perform abortions.

“Today we pray for women for whom pregnancy is not good news, that they know they have choices,” read the prayer for Day 1.

Day 18 offers prayers for “staff at abortion clinics around the nation,” while Day 38 calls for a “cloud of gentleness to surround” every abortion facility in the country.

The campaign, according to Liberty Counsel, an Orlando-based pro-life litigation group, is another “desperate attempt” to regain positive public attention and funding by mimicking a pro-life campaign.

“Planned Parenthood’s prayer crusade is an attempt to mock and marginalize the highly effective ’40 Days for Life,’ which has unified half a million voices for the cause and saved at least 5,838 lives,” the organization said in a statement. “As a direct result of this prayer event, 22 abortion clinics have closed and 69 doctors have stopped performing abortion.”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/13/planned-parenthood-affiliate-launches-40-days-prayer-angering-pro-lifers/#ixzz1s3gjkD8Y

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April 4, 2012 | MariaNews.com 

“Humility is the key to unity in the pro-life movement”

LifeSiteNews.com -  The ‘Lex Vitae’ or Law of Life Summit which took place at Ave Maria School of Law on the weekend, saw a flurry of activity including a personhood debate, talks from pro-life leaders, the Terri Schiavo Memorial Mass, a pro-life race for life, the closing ceremony for 40 Days for Life, and the second annual ‘vitae fest’ complete with a bounce house, dunk tank and pony rides.

Pro-life leaders who gathered for the summit at the Catholic law school on Friday stressed that unity in the pro-life movement requires humility from all those involved.  Discussion noted that the wide variety of initiatives in the pro-life movement can be a source of division if those involved in particular measures deem their activities all-important while belittling the different works of others.

The key, said several leaders present, is to be humble enough to respect that initiatives different from one’s own are nevertheless also geared to protecting life.  Should there be disagreement over tactics, apart from gravely harmful approaches, concerns should be passed along privately without public detraction.

The Law of Life Summit saw leaders represent many such initiatives, including personhood, legal strategies, fundraising, graphic images, political lobbying, voter registration, education, side-walk counseling, pro-life media, picketing, prayer vigils, anti-euthanasia efforts, and more.

Read full story: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/humility-is-the-key-to-unity-in-the-pro-life-movement-say-leaders-at-lex-vi

Learn more about the Law of Life Summit at LawLife.org

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March 27, 2012 | MariaNews.com

Ave Maria School of Law to Host Law of Life Summit “2″
National Pro-life Leaders come to Naples to Defend Life and to Remember Terri Schiavo

NAPLES, FL – Ave Maria School of Law (AMSL) announced today that pro-life leaders from around the country would be converging on Naples for the “Law of Life Summit” – a pro-life action conference spearheaded by third year law student Royce Hood. The event will be Friday, March 30, at the law school’s north Naples campus, and will culminate with a pro-life strategy session at the law library from noon until 2:00 PM.

“Ave Maria School of Law was founded as an institution that respects the sanctity of human life,” said Royce Hood. “The Summit is about bringing together pro-life leaders, community members and students to create measurable and achievable objectives for defending life from conception until natural death.”

Speakers will include:

Patrecia Ming – Ave Maria School of Law Student,

Lauren Muzyka – Campaign Coordinator with 40 Days for Life,

John-Henry Westen – Co-Founder and Editor of LifeSiteNews.com,

Brother Paul O’Donnell – Franciscan Brothers of Peace,

Bobby Schindler – The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network.

And more…..

All media are welcome. For more information on the Summit visit lawlife.org or RSVP to info@lawlife.org.

To learn more about Terri’s Day visit www.TerrisFight.org

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ABOUT AVE MARIA SCHOOL OF LAW

Ave Maria School of Law offers a rigorous legal education characterized by a commitment to professional excellence, the highest ethical and moral standards, and the integration of the Catholic intellectual tradition. Since its opening, Ave Maria has enrolled students from 49 states and abroad and from more than 200 colleges and universities. Alumni of the Law School are now practicing law in more than 40 states and several other countries. Ave Maria School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association.

Ave Maria School of Law was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2000, and in 2009 relocated to Naples, Florida. The law school is currently at her highest enrollment ever – 500 outstanding men and women committed to the Mission of the law school.

March 16, 2012 | 40 Days for Life

Day 24: No Shows

(Shawn Carney) –  A few days ago, I shared the great news about two 40 Days for Life locations in Iowa where Planned Parenthood facilities closed.

That makes 22 locations where 40 Days for Life vigils have been held on the public right-of-way outside — and the abortion centers shut down.

Praise God!

Sometimes … the abortionist just stops showing up!

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COLUMBIA, MISSOURI

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The 40 Days for Life vigil in Columbia takes place outside a Planned Parenthood office that has had a hard time keeping an abortionist on the payroll.

For months at a time over the past few years, this center has been unable to offer surgical abortions because no one would perform them.

Earlier this week, the local team in Columbia learned that for at least two weeks, there will be no abortions at Planned Parenthood.

“We’re not sure what the reason is,” said Kathy in Columbia, noting that Planned Parenthood is being very tight lipped. They are just “not scheduling appointments in Columbia until March 27.”

“Please continue to join us on the sidewalk as we thank God for His gifts to us,” said Kathy.

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RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

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Volunteers in Richmond marked the midpoint of the 40 Days for Life campaign with a candlelight vigil.

They also shared stories that they pray will have happy endings.

They watched as a car with an out-of-state license pulled into the abortion center’s parking lot. But the two people inside never got out. They sat there for half an hour, drove away — and did not return.

A short while later, prayer continued as another couple walked toward the building. One of the volunteers asked if they wanted to talk, but they entered without stopping. Within about 20 minutes, however, they left the abortion center, turned up the street and walked away.

Ann in Richmond said they prayed that both couples ”have a change of heart … and chose life for their child. Praise God for faithful witnesses who stand and pray and who offer the love of Christ.”

For pictures of the vigil in Richmond, please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2959

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March 13, 2012  |  40 Days for Life

Former Planned Parenthood Manager Leads 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil.   Abortion Clinic Closes.

(Shawn Carney) - We start the second half of this 40 Days for Life campaign with HUGE news — and amazing proof that God is at work through your efforts!

This short video documents the historic closure of a Planned Parenthood center on the very day it went out of business following the first — and ONLY — local 40 Days for Life campaign held outside its doors.

It gets better — this local 40 Days for Life campaign was led by the woman who managed that Planned Parenthood center for more than 17 years!

You will hear from her in this short video. You’ll also learn about ANOTHER Planned Parenthood facility that closed the same day — following a local 40 Days for Life campaign in the public right-of-way outside.

Former Planned Parenthood manager Sue Thayer led a 40 Days for Life campaign outside of her former workplace in Storm Lake, Iowa; subsequently the abortion center went out of business. Join 40 Days for Life leaders David Bereit and Shawn Carney as they visit the Des Moines and Urbandale 40 Days for Life campaigns, and as they celebrate the simultaneous closure of the Knoxville and Storm Lake Planned Parenthood abortion centers.

Read More:http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2923

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March 11, 2012 | 40 Days for Life 

(Shawn Carney) - Women have abortions because they have lost hope.

Abortion centers are hopeless places. They survive on fear and despair. When you are there praying, you are the last sign of hope for the baby as the woman enters to have the abortion … and the first sign of hope — and first impression of mercy — as the woman exits after the abortion.

This hope and mercy come from Christ, in whom all things are possible. Thank you for bringing His hope and mercy to the places they are so desperately needed.

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DOVER, DELAWARE
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It was cold and snowing outside Planned Parenthood in Dover, and Darla and her two teenaged sons were thinking about leaving early. They’re glad they didn’t.

A woman came up to talk. She told them she had six children … but aborted her seventh. At the time, she thought she couldn’t handle another child. Now, she considers that the worst mistake of her life. And she’s worried that a friend is about to make the same mistake.

The friend is a teenager who is pregnant. Her family and most of her friends are pressuring her to abort — all except this woman, who knows abortion’s impact firsthand.

The teenager walked out of Planned Parenthood, met her friend, and spoke briefly. The woman then returned to talk to Darla and her sons.

“You ARE making a difference out here,” the woman said. “My teenaged friend has decided, because of your presence, that she cannot go through with an abortion.”

Darla said, “I am so thankful that the Holy Spirit prompted us to stay, despite the bad weather.”

Read More: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2898

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March 7, 2012 | 40 Days for Life 

Day 15: “Healing after years of pain”

(Shawn Carney) – When I was 19 years old, I heard five courageous women give testimonies about how their abortions hurt them.

Their testimonies had a HUGE impact on me then — and they still do today.

Abortion brings emotional and spiritual suffering that can last for years — decades, even. Through 40 Days for Life campaigns, we are hearing about many people who are seeking Christ’s healing after abortion.

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LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA

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“She was a beautiful woman with large dark eyes that spoke of deep hurt,” Abigail said, of the woman who approached her at the 40 Days for Life vigil. “She had been forced to have an abortion and, though it was more than 20 years ago, she had never received help or healing for the pain and void it left in her heart and body.”

Abigail assured her that in Christ, she could find peace. “It’s beautiful to watch a woman take the first step to healing by breaking the silence and shame of abortion and asking for help,” she said.

“Praise God!”

But that’s not the whole story. The woman told Abigail that she had become pregnant again and was being coerced into a second abortion. “But she knew she couldn’t go through with it.”

She pointed to a young man and said, “That is my son” – the child she did not abort. With him was his infant daughter — her grandchild, who would have never been born if she’d had the second abortion.

“God continues to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of His people,” Abigail said. “This is what HE is doing in YOU when you sign up for a prayer slot!”

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HOUSTON, TEXAS

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A volunteer tells of a man who went to pray at the 40 Days for Life vigil.

He shared a story with this volunteer about something that had happened in his life many years ago. His girlfriend had become pregnant — and he’d paid for the abortion.

“He had kept his secret for years — until this very day, when God called him to pray,” the volunteer said.

The man prayed at the vigil for several hours. ”Thanks be to God for the mercy and love he shows us through his forgiveness,” the volunteer said. “The grief this man poured out from his soul will always be in my heart.”

Read More at http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2855

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March 4, 2012 | 40 Days for Life

(Shawn Carney) – I just returned from events celebrating the closure of two Planned Parenthood abortion centers in Iowa –praise God!

Since this spring’s campaign features peaceful vigils at 121 Planned Parenthood facilities — almost half of the total number of sites — there are few things you probably should know.

For starters, Planned Parenthood is the leading abortion chain in the United States, doing around 330,000 abortions EVERY year. They do this with while taking in upwards of $400 million in YOUR tax money.

But Planned Parenthood is worried. Last year, for the first time in 16 years, their abortion numbers went DOWN. Fewer abortions equal fewer dollars. And Planned Parenthood is a business.

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PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK
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For one thing, Planned Parenthood doesn’t want you to know that it runs abortion centers. Their PR campaigns focus on “women’s health.” That’s a reference to abortion — but they avoid the actual word.

Nancy tells a typical story. A man approached her at the 40 Days for Life vigil and asked what the prayer volunteers were doing.

“He was shocked,” she said. “He didn’t know they did abortions at Planned Parenthood.” The man then said he would invite his pastor to come pray. Once he knew what Planned Parenthood was really all about, it made quite an impression.

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VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA
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Planned Parenthood created a media event to protest proposed state legislation. The spot they picked was outside the Planned Parenthood abortion center where the 40 Days for Life vigil is under way. The media arrived — and interviewed both pro-Planned Parenthood demonstrators and 40 Days for Life vigil participants.

But immediately after reporters got their interviews, the pro-abortion demonstrators packed up and left,admitting this was a one-time-only appearance. That’s fairly typical. When the cameras go away, so do they. But the 40 Days for Life prayer volunteers remained — and will continue to be there.

To see some pictures of this event in Virginia Beach, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2814

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