40 Days for Life Campaign Coming to 170+ Cities in US and Canada this Fall

Archives of the American Holocaust

Web Site Clearinghouse Features Info on Abortion's Risks & Complications

Leading Researcher Again Confirms Unborn Children Can Feel Pain at 20 Weeks

Pro-Life Hero Wins 400 Meter Hurdle Olympic Bronze Medal in Beijing... 

THE 40 DAYS FOR LIFE has revealed that more than 170 cities will take part in this novel pro-life effort from September 24 through November 2 this year.

"We may be on the verge of a turning point in the battle against abortion," said David Bereit, national campaign director of 40 Days for Life. "Response to our call for communities to participate in this fall's 40 Days for Life campaign has exceeded our wildest expectations."
 
The community-based 40 Days for Life campaign features 40 days of prayer and fasting, round-the-clock peaceful vigil outside an abortion facility and grassroots educational outreach. Simultaneous campaigns will be conducted coast-to-coast - and internationally - as part of a unified outreach in some 170 communities. In a number of those communities, peaceful vigils will be conducted at multiple abortion locations.
 
"We're especially pleased to see three Canadian cities joining 40 Days for Life this fall," said Bereit, noting that campaigns will be conducted in Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax. "As there will also be a campaign in Washington, D.C., this means that 40 Days for Life will have a presence in the capitals of two nations. We firmly believe that this campaign of prayer and fasting will have a profound impact."
 
In all, 40 Days for Life events are taking place in 45 states, the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces. The list of participating cities is online at http://www.40daysforlife.com/location.cfm. ;
 
"The spread of 40 Days for Life is amazing," said Bereit. "The growth of this outreach is a reflection of the excitement that people are expressing about the many ways 40 Days for Life impacts a community. This program is being embraced by cities conducting their first 40 Days for Life and those who are planning their second, third, or - in the case of Bryan/College Station, Texas - fourth campaign."
 
Bereit noted that more than 75 of the 40 Days for Life prayer vigils will be held outside of Planned Parenthood facilities. "Planned Parenthood is a special concern because it is the nation's largest abortion provider," said Bereit. Planned Parenthood's latest annual report shows some 290,000 abortions performed in a single year - almost one fourth of the total number for the entire United States.
 
"This fall marks a critical time for our country and our culture, and this heartfelt effort to pray and fast for an end to abortion is crucial with regards to our future and what sort of nation we wish to become," said Bereit. "We hope to share the truth about what abortion does to every community where it is practiced, and to make this fall the beginning of the end of abortion in America." [August 25, 2008,  www.LifeSiteNews.com]

ARCHIVES OF THE AMERICAN HOLOCAUST. http://www.lifedynamics.com/library/-- Life Dynamics has now released the Archives of the American Holocaust. This archive features books, writings, documents and other materials for the enemies of life, 1927 - Present. This area will be updated often as material becomes available. This is built on a fully searchable database and available only from Life Dynamics.

WEB SITE CLEARINGHOUSE FEATURES INFO ON ABORTION'S RISKS & COMPLICATIONS. An organization that is one of the leading research institutions on the physical, medical and mental health problems women face after abortion has launched a new web site to serve as a clearinghouse for post-abortion information.

The Elliot Institute has launched AbortionRisks.org, to keep track of problems. The web site will not only provide a wealth of information on post-abortion complications, but will allow women who have experienced problems a chance to share those.

AbortionRisks.org is a Web 2.0 site designed to allow anyone in the world to find or contribute information. Using the same software platform that underlies popular web sites like Wikipedia, AbortionRisks.org allows registered users to add their own information and pages to the site, as well as to edit information that is already there.

The site will include sections for post-abortion ministries to add information about their work and provides space for women and men who have been involved in an abortion to post their stories. [6Aug08, Springfield, IL, www.LifeNews.com]







LEADING RESEARCHER CONFIRMS UNBORN CHILDREN CAN FEEL PAIN AT 20 WEEKS. As people in India join a national abortion debate following an appeals court's rejection of a couple's request for a late-term abortion, the issue of fetal pain is coming into play. One aspect of the debate revolves around whether or not unborn children have the capacity to feel pain.

Kanwaljeet Anand, a pediatrician and fetal pain specialist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is considered the top American expert on the subject.

Anand has conducted research on the subject for over two decades and he also happens to be a native Indian.

Anand told the Telegraph of India newspaper that scientists have seen how operations and other procedures involving unborn children in the womb have shown clear evidence that a baby feels pain before birth.

“The evidence is undeniable," he told the newspaper. "Even a 20-week foetus is likely to feel pain, and excruciating pain."

He told the newspaper he thinks unborn children even have the ability to feel more intense pain, including in an abortion, than newborn babies, children or even adults.

“This is because pain transmission pathways have developed in the foetus, but not the pain modulation pathways that are not effective until six weeks after birth," he explained.

“There is more than enough evidence now. But no one is as blind as someone who doesn't want to see," he said, adding that not all doctors have been convinced by his studies. [6 August 08, Ertelt, www.LifeNews.com #4386,  Bombay, India]




PRO-LIFE HERO WINS OLYMPIC MEDAL IN BEJING. In 2004, U.K. Olympian Tasha Danvers-Smith sacrificed her spot at the Summer Olympics in Athens so she could bring her then-unborn baby to term.  Four years later, her little boy inspired her all the way to the podium in the women's 400-metre hurdle event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

After discovering she was pregnant in 2004, Danvers-Smith made a joint decision with her husband and coach, Darrell, to put her baby's life ahead of her dream of competing in the summer games in Athens. At the time some in the track and field community urged Tasha, touted as one of the U.K.'s best chances for a gold medal, to abort her baby, and the media chastised her when she did not.

Danvers-Smith was, however, given tremendous support by those who believe in the intrinsic right to life of all human beings.  One such organization, which was greatly moved by Tasha's bravery, was the Life Issues Institute.  Executive Director Bradley Mattes presented the athlete and then-soon-to-be mother with the Hero At Heart award, which is given to those individuals who "demonstrate outstanding courage or compassion on behalf of innocent human life."

Four years down the road, after balancing her schedule between the newest member of her family and training for the 400-metre hurdle, Tasha ran a personal best in Beijing, good enough for the bronze medal.  Matte says Tasha has scored a "tremendous victory" for women and has proved her critics wrong.

"Tasha has demonstrated to women all over the world that they don't have to sacrifice their unborn children to fulfill their dreams. Tasha's three-year-old son, Jaden, was an inspiration to her Olympic goals. The very thing critics said would destroy and derail her hopes was central to helping her fulfill them," said Mattes.

"Tasha stood strong for life, even when it meant temporarily giving up her dreams for an Olympic medal. Now she has become a member of the exclusive club of Olympic champions, and she has her beautiful son, Jaden. I couldn't be happier for her," he concluded. Mattes has made it known that he will forward any emails to Tasha regarding her remarkable story: [25Aug08, Tim Waggoner, London, LifeSiteNews.com; ]