Lots of things can happen during the 40 Days for Life.
The annual campaign of prayer, fasting and 24-hour vigils outside abortion clinics has saved thousands of unborn children and has led to countless conversions. It has also brought together people of faith from many Christian denominations.
This year, the 40 Days begins on February 17, coinciding with Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. The 40 Days for Life ends on March 28, while Lent continues until Easter Weekend, ending on Holy Saturday (April 2), the day before Easter.
An “Unplanned” Turn in Her Life
One of the most famous changes of heart linked to the 40 Days for Life came in Texas in 2009, when Abby Johnson, the Bryan/College Station’s Planned Parenthood clinic employee of the year, left her job and began exposing the reality of abortion.
Her story, told in the 2019 film “Unplanned,” began after she encountered many prayer warriors from Coalition for Life, the precursor to 40 Days for Life, outside the clinic beginning in 2008.
At the time, she complained bitterly about them. Then, in September 2009, she assisted in an ultrasound-guided abortion of a baby at 13 weeks.
She was shocked at what she saw, which included the baby twisting away from the abortionist’s vacuum tube, a scene tastefully but searingly depicted in the movie. Nine days later, Abby met with Shawn Carney, leader of Coalition for Life (and now president/CEO of 40 Days for Life), and on Oct. 6, she resigned from the clinic.
Abby has been speaking out for life ever since then, and has been joined by more than 210 abortion clinic employees who have left their jobs out of conviction.
Rapid Growth
What began as a Roman Catholic, pro-life crusade has blossomed into a Christian community event spanning six continents.
The very first year, 2007, Coalition for Life had campaigns in 89 cities in 33 states, which quickly built to all 50 states and then around the world as 40 Days for Life. Cities hosting the vigils include Toronto, London, Sydney, Mexico City, Cape Town, Bogota, Moscow, and Hong Kong.
The group estimates that at least 18,000 lives have been saved because of the vigils, which are held around-the-clock at abortion clinics for the entire 40 days.
In addition, 40 Days for Life reports the closing of at least 107 abortion clinics, including the one in Bryan/College Station, which now houses 40 Days for Life’s international headquarters.
“Walking the Walk”
At Timothy Plan, the pioneering Biblically Responsible Investing firm whose launch in 1994 came directly as a result of founder Art Ally’s pro-life activism, many of the Orlando-based company’s employees are taking part in the 40 Days for Life.
One of the clinics targeted for a 40 Days for Life vigil is the Planned Parenthood clinic on University Boulevard in Orlando. Some Timothy employees have pledged to pray, while others will take part in the vigil outside the clinic.
“I’m proud of our people, who are walking the walk, not just talking the talk,” Mr. Ally said. “We are doing whatever we can to assist in the campaign.
“I can’t think of a more powerful demonstration of the power of prayer than what the Lord has done through the 40 Days for Life campaign in such a short time. God’s touch of the human heart, opened by prayer, truly reaps miracles.”
A writer for Timothy Partners, Ltd. He is a regular weekly columnist for The Washington Times and Townhall.com and is frequently published by AmericanThinker.com, DailyCaller.com, OneNewsNow.com, and others. He has authored the following books: “A Strong Constitution: What Would America Look Like If We Followed the Law” (D. James Kennedy Ministries, 2018), Invested with Purpose: The Birth of the Biblically-Responsible Investment Movement, and A Nation Worth Fighting For: 10 Steps to Restore Freedom.
