Lives saved during Perth’s 40 Days campaign

17 Apr 2014

By Matthew Biddle

Participants of Perth’s 40 Days for Life campaign gather to pray outside the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Midland.

Almost 4,000 hours of prayer took place outside the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Midland during Perth’s 40 Days for Life campaign, which ended on April 13.

Hundreds of people from various Christian denominations participated in the ongoing prayer vigil, with some coming from as far as Kalgoorlie and Albany.

The group’s efforts were rewarded with at least two women deciding against planned abortions at the last moment, with another two turnarounds taking place at the Rivervale clinic during Lent.

“There was an instance where a brochure was handed out to a girl and not much more was said,” vigil coordinator Jo Cicchini told The Record.

“She walked into the car park whilst reading the brochure, stopped halfway, and turned around and walked back out and got into her car and drove off.”

Another turnaround occurred when a pro-life volunteer’s offers of assistance to a young woman were enough to convince her to cancel her scheduled abortion.

“If we weren’t there I have no doubt that she would have walked in,” Mrs Cicchini said.

“It could have been a very different outcome to the life of that child and left behind a spiritually wounded mother who would have been at real risk of grief and emotional pain.”

Mrs Cicchini said the turnarounds were a source of great encouragement for the whole group.

“For all the opposition and abuse we might get, it’s all worth it just for one life saved,” she said.

Although the vigil attracted both negative and positive responses from members of the public, Mrs Cicchini said any attention proved the campaign was having an impact.

“Just to attract people’s interest, even if it’s negative… draws attention to the fact that there are human lives being deliberately killed in our society,” she said.

“If we were being ignored completely we would actually have found that concerning. I believe we’re making a difference.”

This year’s campaign was the fourth to be held in Perth, and Mrs Cicchini said numbers were constantly growing.

“The word about the campaign is getting around and we’re continuing to grow our pro-life group,” she said.

“We need to support this ministry throughout the year also, whether that’s joining the Helpers [of God’s Precious Infants] on their weekly vigils, donating time or funds to pro-life causes, speaking and praying about abortion in our churches, or educating those in our social circles.

“Do whatever you can to strengthen our pro-life family here in Perth and to help change the culture of death and the devaluing of human life in our society.”