Hopes to change minds, hearts about abortion
For 40 days, Catholic and non-Catholic members of the Roanoke Valley pro-life community are standing along a busy highway and praying to change hearts and minds about abortion.
On Monday, Oct. 3, about 30 area participants of 40 Days for Life gathered outside Roanoke’s Planned Parenthood on noisy Peters Creek Road, state highway 117, quietly holding signs, praying and offering literature to any interested visitors at the clinic. Many passing drivers honked in approval, and the few that cursed at the crowd received a reply of “God bless you!”
The national 40 Days for Life organization is a non-denominational movement that includes prayer, fasting and peaceful vigils at abortion facilities twice a year for 40 days, a timespan that often represents change in the Bible. The fall campaign began on Sept. 28 and continues through Nov. 6.
Joan Murano, the local 40 Days for Life leader and a parishioner at Our Lady of Nazareth, Roanoke, noted that peaceful, prayerful witness is essential to changing minds and hearts with love.
“I was raised in a home that was very pro-life, and my mother especially shaped my thinking,” said Murano.
She recalled how, years ago as a shy young woman in her 20s, she approached an abortion clinic in her New York neighborhood to join a group outside. She saw pro-life activists shouting at women going into the clinic, which made their trauma worse, she said.
“I knew that was not the way to help people,” she said, noting that people are hurting emotionally when they go into those clinics. “You can see it on their faces.”
Turning to leave, she saw a deacon from her church nearby, quietly praying.
“He was kneeling on the hard concrete and simply praying,” she remembered. “That really impressed me as the way to do this.”
At the Oct. 3 vigil, Ramona Trevino stood alone and quietly prayed the rosary before speaking to the group. A former Planned Parenthood manager for a now-closed clinic in Sherman, Texas, Trevino is the national outreach director for 40 Days for Life. She is also a lifelong Catholic and author of the book “Redeemed by Grace: A Catholic Woman’s Journey to Planned Parenthood and Back.”
“It’s never an easy decision for any woman in a crisis situation,” Trevino said.
She recalled her own difficult years when she was an unwed 16-year-old mother. Years later, married and the mother of two, she began to have inner conflicts when she realized she could no longer in good conscience stay at the clinic.
“I felt uneasy in my soul,” she said. She left Planned Parenthood in 2011 and soon joined 40 Days for Life.
Opening and closing prayers led by Episcopal seminarian Cameron Spiegel spurred Trevino to note the importance of Christian participants from many denominations coming together to pray for the end of abortion. “
This is beyond religious differences,” she said. “We are all brothers and sisters in Christ.”
Jenni Brocius, a member of Roanoke’s Faith Alliance Church and part of the non-denominational group Love Life that was also at the vigil, agreed.
“What we see is when the churches come together, God is leading us as a whole,” she said.
Dorothy Marshall, who stood outside the clinic and heard Trevino’s talk, carried a sign that read: “Love both mother & baby.”
“You can’t save the baby unless you reach the mother, and the mother is in crisis in some way,” Marshall said. “Our answer is to help the mother.”
She and her husband, Shawn, who also participated in the vigil, attend both St. Elias and St. Andrew parishes, Roanoke. While they may not always see the fruit of their work, Marshall said, 40 Days for Life members will continue to pray, fast, witness and hope to plant seeds in people’s hearts.
“It’s so paramount to stand up for God’s truth. We are his hands and feet.”
But sometimes there is fruit, she added, from a woman deciding to continue with her pregnancy to another woman simply asking for more information at a prayer vigil.
The literature given out by 40 Days for Life states that since 2007 and in more than 1,000 cities worldwide, more than 18,000 lives have been saved from abortion. It also states that more than 200 abortion workers, like Trevino, have quit their jobs.
It’s vital to share information on local resources, Marshall explained, as many women are not aware of the help available, and that it is free, safe and confidential.
A past leader for the local 40 Days for Life, Marshall is now the executive director of Mary’s Haven in Roanoke, a new “mothers’ home” that provides shelter, care and support for expectant mothers in need. It was modeled after Mary’s Shelter in Fredericksburg and Mary’s Choice in Richmond.
Marshall explained that mothers and babies can live at Mary’s Haven for up to three years, with rent and utilities paid by the organization.
“This gives them time to learn how to be good mothers,” Marshall said. “They can learn from and help each other.”
She lauds the compassion of 40 Days for Life members for bringing the program to life.
“Mary’s Haven bloomed out of the hearts and generosity of 40 Days for Life,” Marshall said, noting that the idea and first donations came from the group.
“Basically, we want everyone to know that there are places out there ready to help these women who are in crisis and afraid,” Marshall said. “We need to pray for the grace that they will find what they need.”
Editor’s note: To learn how to participate in a 40 Days for Life vigil in your area, visit 40daysforlife.com.