40 Days for Life participants pray outside Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City last month.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
IOWA CITY —The 40 Days for Life campaign is an opportunity for Christians worldwide to come together and pray outside abortion clinics. It’s “a peaceful vigil of prayer and fasting for 40 days with the goal to provide resources to pregnant women in crisis and save babies from abortion,” said Sheryl Schwager, executive director of Johnson County Right to Life.
Iowa City-area participants try to maintain a constant presence outside the Emma Goldman Clinic from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the campaign, which began Sept. 25 and will conclude Nov. 3. Participants take shifts to pray, hand out brochures and hold signs, whatever feels most comfortable, said Paul Breitbach, local coordinator and a member of St. Wenceslaus Parish in Iowa City.
The initiative, in many ways, is an extension of what pro-life advocates in the area do year-round, Breitbach said. About 8-20 pro-life advocates pray outside Emma Goldman on Thursdays, when abortions are scheduled. Groups from Dubuque and Davenport participate regularly and Breitbach is encouraged by a recent increase in University of Iowa participants. “A lot of their peers are going by, walking to class. I think that has a powerful effect when students, or anyone walking by, sees them out there.”
Nathan Seiler, a FOCUS missionary assigned to the Newman Catholic Student Center at the University of Iowa, is among the students, staff and FOCUS missionaries who pray outside the Iowa City clinic. “Prayer is powerful but the hope is, if a young woman who desires to get an abortion sees a woman her age — someone she can relate to — begging the Lord to save her baby, that it is going to go a long, long way to influencing the way she thinks and makes decisions,” he said.
Abortion advocates sometimes attempt to “drown out our prayers with loud music and derisive language,” Seiler said. “We are called to fight for good and the dignity of the innocent unborn babies in their mothers’ wombs, we are also called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.”
Protesters are most vocal during major events such as the Iowa City March for Life but are less confrontational during regularly scheduled vigils, observes Breitbach. “It’s not as intimidating as people might think.” When someone honks or curses in protest, Breitbach offers a short prayer for them. He hopes everyone who disagrees with the pro-life message will “one day join us and become warriors for life.”
Although Breitbach prays for an abortion-free society in which sidewalk vigils no longer are necessary, he appreciates the relationships he has formed with other pro-life advocates through the years. “We look forward to seeing each other… we all get energized by each other.”
For Schwager, a member of St. Patrick Parish in Iowa City, the vigil offers a sense of peace. “I believe my presence, by the grace of God, helps to dispel the darkness and despair that surrounds those I encounter. I pray for God to send his guardian angels to turn the hearts of those who are working there and for abortion-minded women to have a receptive heart to our resources.” Worldwide since 2007, more than 24,000 babies have been saved, 155 abortion centers have closed and 263 abortion workers have quit because of the campaign, she said.
40 Days for Life participants can sign up for one-hour time slots at https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/iowa-city. Breitbach encourages people who are new to the 40 Days for Life vigil to go with a friend. If that is not possible, “I tell people they can contact Sheryl or me and we can go with them.”
Pro-life advocates who cannot stand outside the clinic can participate from home, Breitbach said. “Everyone can contribute through prayers and fasting, wherever they’re at. The more the better.”
