DAY 5: Message to "The Sign People"

From Shawn Carney, Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

Just one item today - but a powerful one. Here's a letter that a young woman left at a 40 Days for Life vigil site - simply addressed "to the sign people."

If this doesn't show the importance of your peaceful witness outside the abortion centers ... I don't know what does!

 

To the sign people

My friend had left me the use of her apartment as she was away ... perfect because it was right where the clinic was!

The next day, I saw you people lining up with signs ... I watched from the window every day and all day you were there! Different folks each time.

I had this idea in my head that abortion picketers were extremists ... no "normal" person would do that sort of thing. Yet you did not look extreme ... more ordinary.

Tuesday was my pre-procedure appointment. Used the wrong entrance and had to walk past you. So what, I thought. Who cares? They don’t know me or where I am going. As I walked past (hurriedly!), my legs felt like they weighed a ton. What was going on? Are these people intimidating me? Do I need to feel ashamed as I walk past? The receptionist told me to "ignore them" when I asked about you.

Every day I watched you. One day I thought for sure no one would be there. Weather forecast was calling for severe winds and rain. There in the afternoon, amid strong winds which were blowing the signs over the head and onto the grass, you stood. Three or four together. All day!

The next day I took a walk and followed you in the direction where everyone seemed to go. It was a church. After everyone left, I went inside and saw all the signs, flyer. Impressive set-up, I thought. They seem organized in their purpose!

On Friday was my scheduled appointment for my procedure. I was suddenly terrified of what was to be. My heart was almost beating out of my chest.

My boyfriend, who had promised to come the day before, did not show up to take me. Said he was tied up and that ultimately it was my choice to have it that day or wait til next week. My choice. But he’s not there to hold my hand! Lots of weighing pros and cons.

Anyhow, I want to let you know that I decided to keep my baby. The boyfriend is still a distance away but maybe he needs time to come around and see the big picture.

The reason I decided to leave you this note is to tell you that what you did was good. I felt I owed it to you for all the days you stood there in hope that others would take notice. I noticed - and in turn it gave me hope that others I know would also  care to "stand for me."

It's a crazy world we live in ... but some seem to know how to see the good in it.

 

Thanks!

 

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Here's today's devotional from Rev. Ben Sheldon, president emeritus of Presbyterians Pro-Life...

 

Day 5 intention

May the truth of the final judgment shape our thoughts, priorities, and choices here on earth.

Scripture

The King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."

-- Matthew 25:31-46 

 

Reflection by Rev. Ben Sheldon

Caring for others is not optional.

Jesus' picture of the final judgment concludes with this sobering word: the wicked, who failed to care for others in their various needs (e.g., the hungry, the thirsty, the aliens, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned) will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous who did seek to meet those needs will end up with him, enjoying eternal life.

We know that this was no parable! Jesus has given us fair warning! Everything in God's Word points to the truth that compassionate concern and practical care for all people, especially for the poor, the destitute, the weak and needy is required of us, if indeed we hope to escape the punishment of the fire of hell.

And who are the poor and needy, if not helpless, unborn babies, as well as the aged and infirm at the other end of life? Surely the "least of these" embraces not only those at both ends of the continuum of life, but all others in between.

Just how we, as Christ's true followers, respond to his admonition "inasmuch as you did it to the least of these, you did it to me" will determine whether we enjoy eternal bliss in his presence or the bleak and dreadful reality of eternal punishment in hell. Nothing in God's Word could be clearer!

Prayer

Gracious and merciful Father, we gladly embrace your Word that counsels us to care for the least of your children, and we renew our dedication to defending the unborn and all whose right to life is compromised by our godless society's selfish lack of concern. Free us from our own failures and sins so that we will be truly pro-life in every area of our lives. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

Printable devotional

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http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2013day05print.pdf

An Evening With JD Mullane: “What I Saw at the Gosnell Trial”

We invite you to hear a local journalist’s compelling and detailed account of his experiences while covering the horrific murder trial involving abortionist Kermit Gosnell in Philadelphia.

JD writes for The Intelligencer, the Bucks County Courier Times, and The Burlington Times.

He covered the Gosnell trial daily for these newspapers and described his experiences during interviews for The Huckabee Show on Fox News and with Ezra Levant on beforeitsnews.com.

He also routinely tweeted as the trial unfolded and wrote about his experiences in his blog.

His quality reporting on this issue earned attention at several well-known news Websites, including (among others) newsbusters.org, michellemalkin.com, pjmedia.com, and lifesitenews.com.

As a pro-life Catholic who lives in Bucks County, JD and his wife have 3 children.

 When:      October 15, 2013

Time:         7:30 pm

Where:    Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Mary's Hall

                  235 E. State Street, Doylestown, PA 18901

Join us for this riveting account of the holocaust against the unborn and even the newly born.

Refreshments will follow the talk.

Boeher Warned of Obamacare's Abortion 'Slush Fund,' 'Secrecy Clause'

By Craig Bannister

September 27, 2013 - 10:56 AM

Today, 72 congressmen sent a letter to House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) urging him to insert language ending abortion funding and religious discrimination in Obamacare into any funding or debt ceiling legislation.

"[T]he Obama administration has committed unprecedented attacks against the unborn and the religious freedom guaranteed in the Constitution, all under the guise of 'access to health care,'" the letter tells Boehner.

The letter implores Boehner to "incorporate H.R. 940, the Health Care Conscience Rights Act, along with a cessation of federal dollars for abortions into the continuing resolution or on legislation addressing the debt ceiling."

H.R. 940 says that nothing in the Obamacare law "shall require an individual to purchase individual health insurance coverage that includes coverage of an abortion or other item or service to which such individual has a moral or religious objection, or prevent an issuer from offering or issuing, to such individual, individual health insurance coverage that excludes such item or service."

continue reading at http://cnsnews.com 

DAY 4: Off and running

From Shawn Carney, Campaign Director

Today, I speak at the Central California Walk for Life -- an event that 40 Days for Life volunteers helped organize. More than 1,000 people are expected to pray at an abortion facility and then march. I'm looking forward to a very inspiring day!

I'm turning the rest of today's report over to our national director, David Bereit, as he describes his whirlwind visits across two Southern states in the first 24 hours of this campaign:

 

 

Birmingham, Alabama 

 Upon arriving in Birmingham, I met with numerous local pro-life leaders, as well as EWTN radio show hosts Jim and Joy Pinto, at a local pregnancy center. Then we all headed out to join the big crowd of excited volunteers at the local 40 Days for Life kickoff event.

It was raining until minutes before the event, when the rain stopped and the sky cleared. Many clergy were in attendance, including the retired Catholic bishop of Birmingham, David Foley, as well as Charismatic Episcopal Church Bishop Chuck Pierce.

The event was a top story on the local television news (see video of news story at: http://bit.ly/1avzZwB ).

 

 

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

After the rally, I drove an hour to Tuscaloosa, where a Knights of Columbus hall was packed with local pro-lifers and students from the University of Alabama for breakfast and to kick off their 40 Days for Life campaign -- which is being directed by a dynamic college student named Claire. 

 

Montgomery, Alabama

 Next, I drove two hours to Montgomery, where a large group from numerous different churches gathered across the street from a facility that has been aborting children in Alabama's capital city for 30 years. It was amazing to meet local volunteers from many different faith traditions all working together for a common cause! 

 

Columbus, Georgia

From Montgomery, I drove 90 minutes and across the state line to Columbus, Georgia -- also in a different time zone! I prayed with the group of volunteers and shared encouraging stories of some of the earliest victories that have already been happening during this campaign. 

Atlanta, Georgia 

Then it was a two-hour drive to Atlanta, where I met with many local and state pro-life leaders for a brief dinner before going out to a large kickoff rally outside a notorious late-term abortion center.

Once again, I was blessed to see tremendous diversity at this event -- people from different churches, races and backgrounds, all standing arm in arm to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves." 

Marietta, Georgia 

 The day ended with a 30-minute drive to Marietta, a suburb of Atlanta, where the 40 Days for Life vigil is being held outside an office park that houses a large abortion business.

More than 100 joyful people were gathered in the dark along the very busy road with candles. Nearly half of them were Spanish speaking! Fortunately, the local leader and others were able to translate the message of hope to all attendees.

In just the first 24 hours of this campaign, I drove 408 miles with stops in 6 cities to meet hundreds of amazing people with ONE focused mission -- ending abortion. I have GREAT hope for our future!

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Thanks to David Bereit for all that good news!


Here's today's devotional from Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life...

 

Day 4 intention

We ask God that we may understand the concept of justice, as a gift he gives and as a responsibility that shapes our work.

 

Scripture

Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

-- Amos 5:24

 

Reflection

Justice, a key theme of the Scriptures, is something God does and that we too must do.

When God intervenes to save his people when they are helpless and in slavery in Egypt, he "does justice." He manifested his justice in the plagues that were sent upon Egypt, whereby Pharaoh was convinced that he must let the people go. Justice is manifested as, in awe and wonder, God's people see the Red Sea open before them, allow them to pass without even getting their feet wet, and then close again to drown their powerful enemies.

God is a God of Justice; he rescues us when we cannot save ourselves. His justice, above all, is seen in Jesus Christ, who, when we could not save ourselves, rescued us from the kingdom of sin, Satan, death, and hell. The mighty work of Christ on the cross and in the resurrection is the perfect manifestation of God as the God of justice.

We, then, are to be the people of justice; we are to "do justice" by intervening to save the helpless in the name and by the power of the God who saves us who are helpless ourselves. That's why we have a pro-life movement; that's why we have a 40 Days for Life Campaign; that's why saving the unborn is our business.

 

Prayer

God of Justice, you heard the cry of your people when they were being oppressed in Egypt, and you proved yourself to be the God of justice, who rescues the helpless. You likewise rescued us from the kingdom of darkness, and brought us into the Kingdom of your Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who saves us from the power of Satan, sin, death, and hell.

Make us people of justice, ready to intervene to save the helpless. Indeed, as your prophets have announced, let justice roll on like a mighty river, to save all who are in need, especially the unborn. We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

Printable devotional

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http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2013day04print.pdf 

Late-Term Abortionist: I Pray With A Woman Before Killing Their Baby…

She also lets them hold their dead baby after they have been “born.”

There are only four American doctors left who openly include third-trimester abortion in their practice.

They're profiled in the new documentary After Tiller, which opens in New York tonight. All four of these doctors were close friends and colleagues of Dr. George Tiller, who was assassinated in Kansas in May 2009, and they take on significant personal risks in their fight to keep late abortion available; they believe in their work deeply, while understanding that many people view it as murder. Fewer than 1% of abortions in this country are performed in the third trimester. It's illegal in all but 9 states, and according to a 2011 Gallup poll, only 10% of Americans are in favor of the practice.

Susan Robinson is one of these four doctors. We spoke on the phone earlier this week.

You've been practicing medicine since the seventies as an OB-GYN, and you started off your career in a Catholic hospital. I'm guessing that there wasn't much talk of abortion there?

Oh, absolutely not. I did my fellowship and residency in perinatology, which is high-risk obstetrics, and we weren't ever supposed to discuss abortion. For example, if we were performing an amniocentesis and detected an abnormality, even a possibly fatal one, we were never supposed to even suggest the option to the mother. Instead we told them that the test was there to help them prepare for the reality of having that child.

continue reading at http://thehairpin.com

DAY 3: "I'm hooked!"

Shawn Carney with Nikki Bruni, local Campaign Coordinator at Pittsburgh event

I just wrapped up a great visit to Pittsburgh, helping kick off their 40 Days for Life campaign.

Around 125 people turned out to hear the great praise-and-worship band, Intent ... along with Georgette Forney, co-founder the of Silent No More Awareness group. The vigil location is on a busy downtown street.




If you've never had a chance to actually pray at a 40 Days for Life vigil -- here's your invitation!

The first step is to find the location nearest you:
http://40daysforlife.com/location

And if you need a bit of encouragement, here's one first-time prayer volunteer who's now energized and ready to do even more!

Pensacola, Florida

"I'm hooked!" was the reaction of a young mom who had just finished her first-ever prayer hours at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Pensacola.

"I feel like I'm actually doing something to end abortion," she added. "It's great to do something ... instead of just talking about abortion."

She said she would commit to as many days of prayer at the abortion center as possible.

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Ethel tells me the first 40 Days for Life campaign in the Atlantic City area is off to a great start -- and the blessings are obvious, even when the abortion facility is closed.

"We had so many cars and trucks beeping and waving," she said. There was also the young woman who drove up to ask for help.

"She was 9 weeks pregnant and considering and abortion," Ethel explained. The volunteers offered God's love -- and information about how she could find assistance. The woman said she would return for more prayer ... but she had to get home, where she has four other children.

Please keep this woman -- and the many others just like her -- in your prayers.  

Here's today's devotional from Dennis DiMauro of Lutherans for Life...

Day 3 intention

We pray for God's gift of strength as we strive to protect human life during these 40 Days for Life.

Scripture

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

-- Matthew 6:25-26

Reflection

Billions of dollars are spent each year on diet plans. But Jesus tells us to stop worrying so much about our bodies, and instead to trust in God's care for our physical needs.

What would happen if the people who had started on a low-carb diet this year had instead gone on a diet of heavenly food? For non-believers that diet would include trusting in Christ for their salvation, and for believers it would include a renewed prayer life, a new Bible study, or even a spiritual fast. This diet doesn't include giving up on certain kinds of foods. What this diet includes is giving up on anxiety by resting in the loving arms of Christ, trusting that He will provide.

Such a spiritual diet also frees us from our worries, and allows us to freely praise Him and serve others. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

This promised provision teaches us the inestimable worth of our lives. He will not allow us to go without. This intimate knowledge and care for human life on the part of our gracious God is what motivates us to seek for the preservation of human life in all its stages.

Prayer

Loving heavenly Father, help us to see the worth of all human beings by the way in which you provide for us. We would ask that you provide also the faith, grace and courage to enable us to protect that which is so precious to you. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Printable devotional

 

To download today's devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends:

http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2013day03print.pdf 

This is Planned Parenthood

 

  Students for Life releases new video on Planned Parenthood. Please watch this excellent 3 minute video. 

                               

Obamacare State Exchanges May Fund 111,500 Abortions a Year With Your Money

by Charles Donovan

On January 1, 2014 state health exchanges, or the federal or “partnership” versions that will operate in their stead in a narrow majority of states, are required by law to be up and running.


By October 1, 2013 consumers are supposed to be able to begin researching and comparing insurance options in these exchanges.  Delays in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act are evident in nearly all areas of the law, including a feature called “multi-state plans” (MSPs) that are designed to be phased in over a four-year period for every state in the Union.

Despite provisions of law including the Hyde Amendment governing appropriations for abortion; the Hyde-Weldon amendment barring discrimination against physicians, insurers, institutional providers and others with respect to their policies regarding providing, referring or paying for abortion; and the language governing the MSPs themselves, the Obama Administration and abortion funding advocates seem bent on pursuing numerous avenues for the ACA, and MSPs in particular, to make public abortion subsidies available to tens of thousands of girls and women of childbearing age.

Here is how.

article continues at http://www.lifenews.com

Meet The Little Sisters Of The Poor - This is What Sexual Expressionism Wants to Squash!

From Helen Alvare

I don’t want you to watch this video just because it will make both of us cry.

 I want you to watch it because it sums up visually we’ve been saying with words for months – that it’s beyond ridiculous for any government to believe that women care more about free birth control than they care about upholding the very meaning of life: to serve one another in love, in everything we do, at work and at home.

Here in this video are WOMEN religious, the Little Sisters of the Poor, doing incredible work for the elderly and poor … providing a loving presence, health care, even “home”… up to the moment their earthly lives end.  “In this home, nobody dies alone,” says the director of nursing.  We give the “look of love” to every single person, says the director, Sister Mary Bernard.

      

And this, THIS is what sexual expressionism wants to squash?

The Little Sisters of the Poor do not meet the Obama Administration’s criteria for a “religious institution.” So the sisters have a choice—go against their beliefs and obey the Mandate, or pay fines which would put them out of business. The HHS mandate, billed as a boon for women, would crush the work of these WOMEN, who are caring mostly for other women (given women’s longevity), as well as men.  Crush it why?  So Sandra Fluke and other women nowhere near the poverty line can get birth control for 20-50 dollars less per month than they’re paying now? (For poor women, the government provides free birth control via myriad programs. See this excerpt of a law article I wrote.)

What about the right to die with dignity? To be given the “look of love” to the very end?

Thankfully, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sued on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor. And it’s looking likely that the Supreme Court will soon take up the constitutional and statutory religious freedom claims raised by the mandate.

Last week, the Obama Administration asked the Supreme Court to review the 10^th Circuit’s injunction granted to Hobby Lobby, freeing them from any responsibility to comply with the Mandate. Separately, the Alliance Defending Freedom asked the Supreme Court to review a 3^rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision which ruled against Conestoga Wood Specialties, a Mennonite owned company in Pennsylvania. The conflict between Circuits regarding the religious freedom of for-profit companies makes it likely SCOTUS will take up one or both of the cases. Arguments would be heard during this next SCOTUS session and a ruling would be handed-down by late June 2014.

Remember in the meantime, when you have a chance before the Jan. 1, 2014 implementation date for the Mandate, Please:

1.  Contact your federal representatives about voting for H.R. 940; S. 1204. It’s a long shot, but if we expect our representatives to stick our necks out for us, we have to continue helping them too.

 Use this link to contact your federal representatives http://www.usa.gov

2. Send this video around to as many friends as you can;  and tell people that THIS is what’s at stake with the Mandate: free birth control versus the freedom to love and serve elderly and sick WOMEN and men the way religious social services do all over the United States. Tell them that WOMEN care more about the lives who have been entrusted to us, than we care about “free” birth control.

I know it’s been a long haul. Thanks for whatever you can do.

 The Little Sisters of the Poor are an international Roman Catholic Congregation of women Religious founded in 1839 by St. Jeanne Jugan. They operate homes in 31 countries, where they provide loving care for over 13,000 needy elderly persons.

Although the Little Sisters' homes perform a religious ministry of caring for the elderly poor, they do not fall within the government's narrow exemption for "religious employers." Accordingly, beginning on January 1, the Little Sisters will face IRS fines unless they violate their religion by hiring an insurer to provide their employees with contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs.


 For more information, visit http://www.becketfund.org/littlesisters/

Please contact your federal representatives and ask them to support  H.R. 940 and S. 1204.   Do it today and ask your family and friends to do the same.

How Obamacare Will Subsidize Abortion

By  Chuck Donovan

With all the attention focused on Ted Cruz’s attempt to defund Obamacare in the continuing resolution, some of the law’s parade of horribles are momentarily out of view. Come October 1, those horribles will resume their onward march as the law’s impact on subsidizing elective abortion will begin to become clearer.