Does praying in front of an abortion clinic make a difference? We invite you to read the story of baby Justice, which we received from Bob Schoen who prayed in front of the Toledo abortion clinic during our 40 Days for Life campaign during Lent:
I just want to share with you a couple of things that happened at the 40 Days for Life March Thursday.
Three of us were finishing up the 2-3 PM hour. All of the patient cars were now gone, and we had taken a short pause from our praying to just walk around the facility and talk. A car pulled through the parking lot, blocked our walk down the sidewalk, and a lady put down her window to talk to us. She spoke about her baby and put down the back window so we could see the baby (her name is Justice) in her car seat. This lady told us she had intended to abort her baby, but did not because of people marching at the clinic. She wanted to let us know how much she appreciated it and that it had saved the life of her baby. She often drives by and sees people marching and praying. This time she decided to stop and say something.
Earlier in the day, a car pulled into the lot, also blocking the path of a marcher. The man driving wanted to know what was going on. Why were people marching, and why were all of the cars there? There were over 20 patients inside the clinic at that time. All of the parking spaces were taken and some of the patients had parked along North Haven. He hadn’t realized the building was an abortion clinic, and couldn’t believe they had so many patients there.
We know that for every person that actually stops there are many others who have their awareness raised, or who have been otherwise impacted by the praying and marching.
I just want to post a reminder that it doesn’t matter if the clinic is open or closed when you march and pray, and you may never have the blessing of someone stopping to tell you about their baby not being aborted, but the marching and praying does matter.
Throughout Lent, Catholic Charities Diocese of Toledo's Respect Life ministry is hosting a 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil in front of the Toledo Women's Center, formerly the Capital Care Network, at 1160 W. Sylvania Ave., Toledo, OH. Individuals or groups may sign up to pray for an hour from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from March 2 to April 11, 2022.
Can you join us in our peaceful prayer mission to end abortion in our community? Visit www.40daysforlife.com/toledo for information on how you can sign-up to pray.
