Pro-life activists pray along the sidewalk across the street from Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City on March 5.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
IOWA CITY — Pro-life advocates in Iowa City are overjoyed to know that their prayerful presence outside Emma Goldman Clinic played a role in saving the life of an unborn child last month.
Advocates usually pray in the right-of-way on Monday afternoons and Thursday mornings, when the clinic provides abortions. Since Feb. 18, advocates have maintained a constant presence there as part of the international 40 Days for Life campaign.
In late February, a sidewalk prayer warrior reached out to a young woman as she entered the clinic, offering support and resources, Johnson County Right to Life (JCRTL) reported in a newsletter March 3. Though the woman initially declined assistance, her grandmother stopped to learn more. “Not long after, the young woman came back out with wonderful news — she had changed her mind and decided to keep her baby,” JCRTL shared. “Her grandmother joyfully shared, ‘We have family, and we will help her.’”
The 40 Days campaign continues through March 29. 40 Days for Life participants can sign up for one-hour time slots at https://www.40daysforlife.com/en/iowa-city or participate from home through prayer. “With everyone’s prayers, we can have more of these stories,” said Paul Breitbach, local coordinator and a member of St. Wenceslaus Parish in Iowa City.
For more information about the vigil, go to https://www.jcrtl.org/40-days-for-life-prayer-vigil.html.
