40 Days for Life Characterizes Planned Parenthood as "In Crisis Mode"

"To put it plainly, prayer works. We're looking forward to hearing many more such reports during the second half of the 40 Days for Life vigils -- and beyond," went the words of David Bereit, national campaign director for 40 Days for Life as he spoke on the 21st day of that organization's "40 Days of Life" campaign.

"Planned Parenthood is investing quite a bit of energy in response to 40 Days for Life. Would they do this if the campaign wasn't hurting their business and tarnishing their public image? We're hearing story after story outlining the dramatic impact of the 40 Days for Life effort," said Bereit with regard to an e-mail campaign being currently run by that organization asking for financial donations in response to the effects of 40 Days of Life's efforts to use what it says are peaceful, prayer-centered methods to shut down or put women off from abortion clinics around the nation.

"Right now, there are picketers outside clinics all across the country in an attempt to restrict women's access to health care services," writes Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards.

Backers and advocates of the Planned Parenthood organization say that it is woefully mischaracterized by opponents of women's rights to choose whether or not they will have babies and what they will do with their own bodies.

They say that although it is unquestionably true that their clinics provide women with safe and legal abortions, only three percent of all Planned Parenthood's provided services are related to abortions. Their main services include providing women with affordable, easy-to-get birth control, STI/STD testing and treatment if necessary, pregnancy testing, breast health exams, cervical exams, adoption counseling and placement, and crisis counseling. Indeed, these are services that so many women cannot afford to get anywhere else in America's current atmosphere of health care crises.

As a matter of fact, Planned Parenthood's mission is to prevent, not promote, abortions. Steve Trombley, CEO and president, has said publicly that the services his organization provides will do vastly more to prevent women choosing abortion than all of their opponents' lifelong protests and image-attacking will ever do to that end.

40 Days of Life is a Christian "pro-life" organization. Calling on the symbolism of the "40 days" timeline found so often in the bible, the organization is calling upon supporters to use constant prayer and "peaceful vigils" maintained outside of women's health clinics across the United States to ward off what it calls the "demon" of abortion. The organization is also advocating using fasting-in this case, temporarily giving up or severely reducing consumption of anything normally indulged in, whether that be food or television programs or checking and writing e-mails-as a means of cutting oneself off from distractions so as to be able to focus more intensely on prayer.

"People in more than 80 communities are taking part in 40 Days for Life, and about half of the vigils are being conducted outside Planned Parenthood facilities. It seems that's where the prayers of average people around the country are having their greatest impact," said Bereit.

Source:
http://prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-16-2007/0004683278&EDATE=