The Vigil began with a prayer service at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 26th. Father Rick Heilman of the Knights of Divine Mercy, and Dave Konkol from the House of Prayer, presided over the service, with about 60 others uniting with them in prayer.
Media coverage up to this point has been surprisingly fair. The Badger Herald (The UW's primary newspaper) had a very good article in Thursday's edition:
Pro-life group begins 40-day vigil
by Andrea Berg
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Anti-abortion rights activists gathered outside a Madison Planned Parenthood Wednesday evening to mark the beginning of a 40-day vigil to pray for women entering the clinic.
The 40 Days for Life campaign began three years ago in Texas, and this year, more than 90 groups will be participating in the 40 days of prayer and fasting throughout the nation.
The Madison event took place in front of Planned Parenthood at 3706 Orin Rd. The program stresses peace and the power of prayer and God.
“We just hope that more clinics end up closing down through the power of prayer,” said Steve Marshall, a participant in the vigil.
The opinions expressed by Marshall were echoed by many of the other people in attendance. Although those praying during the event do not intend to speak directly with people entering the clinic, they do hope their presence will be felt.
One of the speakers at the event, Tom Lang, discussed the effects he thinks the groups’ presence will have at this clinic.
“When we hear the statistic of 60 to 80 percent of women being coerced to have an abortion, these 40 days here will have a profound effect on women who are having second thoughts,” Lang said.
Lang and many of the other people present at the vigil hope to inform people about the options besides abortion. Group supporters also wish for legal action against abortion, but they are currently focused more on changing people’s personal feelings about it.
“We all pray for legal change, but it also has to be a conversion of hearts,” Lang said during an opening ceremony.
The presence of religious leaders was strongly felt at the kickoff for the campaign. Multiple religions had representation at the event and two of those leaders spoke during the opening prayer ceremony.
One of them, Pastor Dave Konkol, expressed his opinions on abortion and his views on the importance of prayer. Konkol also offered a message to unborn children who may be aborted.
“We cry out tonight for the innocent, unborn children who are unwanted, and we say to them that you are wanted,” Konkol said.
The organizer for the event, Amy Hying, said she has always felt strongly about abortion. Hying, like the many other people in attendance, believes that God has given them this event to begin the process of changing people’s minds about abortion.
Abortion, Hying said, is actually killing two people: the unborn child and the mother, who dies spiritually.
“So many women have had abortions and are in pain,” Hying said after the opening proceedings.
However, according to Lisa Boyce, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood, the campaign’s outreach efforts are counterproductive.
“If they were really interested in reducing the incidences of abortion, they would instead put their efforts towards enhancing women’s reliability on clinics to prevent unintended pregnancies,” Boyce said.
Boyce added the campaign has never deterred people from entering the clinic in the past.
“It only delays women from seeking out treatment and puts her health at risk,” Boyce said. “It puts off exams that could potentially reveal cervical cancer or a sexually transmitted disease that could then be passed on if not caught right away.”
The Madison Capitol Times also had a good story on the vigil in Friday's newspaper:
Abortion foes begin 40-day clinic protest
Hannah Young
Correspondent for The Capital Times — 9/28/2007 11:52 am
For the second time this year, anti-abortion activists are gathering outside the Madison Abortion Clinic for a 40-day demonstration, which so far has been peaceful, according to a staffer at the clinic.
The protesters holding vigil outside the Madison Abortion Clinic at 3706 Orin Road are part of a national campaign called 40 Days for Life, which organized sit-ins outside abortion clinics in 89 cities across the nation. The demonstrations all began Wednesday at midnight.
According to a press release from Wisconsin Right to Life, activists will spend 40 days outside abortion clinics praying and fasting.
The campaign's Madison coordinator, Amy Hying, said there are currently around 200 people signed up. She said the average shift lasts three hours, and at least two people will be at the site praying throughout the 40 days.
"We just come here in prayer and peace and love because we know that our society is being hurt by abortion," Hying said this morning in a phone interview. "We come here as ambassadors of joy."
Hying said the demonstrators were excited Thursday because David Bereit, the national campaign director for 40 Days for Life, was in Madison to visit the site and participate in the vigil.
Kim, an employee at the Madison Abortion Clinic who declined to give her last name, said the protesters have been peaceful. She added that protesters are not anything new for the clinic and that they typically have a couple a week.
"If they want to waste their time standing out there that's their business," Kim said of the 40 Days for Life protesters. "We haven't had any incidents."
In Wisconsin, 40 Days for Life vigils are also being held in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Grand Chute.
David Bereit, the nationwide coordinator for 40 Days for Life, stopped by the pray with the Madison faithful outside the Planned Parenthood on Thursday.
Continue to pray that God may use this vigil to convert hearts and minds!
