Our "40 Days For Life" autumn campaign in Northern Ireland came to an end on Sunday 31st October.

We had a tremendous response to the campaign. New volunteers joined us at our daily Prayer Vigils and also at our Street Information Table on Saturdays. And most importantly, babies were saved from abortion.

Because abortion remains illegal in Northern Ireland, there are no abortion 'clinics' but the FPA (Family Planning Association) - an affiliate of International Planned Parenthood Federation - operate two "Abortion Referral Agencies", from where they refer women to abortion 'clinics' in Britain. These "Abortion Referral Agencies" are in Northern Ireland's two largest cities - Belfast and Derry.

Here is a just a few of the amazing stories I’ve received from our volunteers who prayed outside the Abortion Referral Agencies" during this 40 day campaign…

One day during our 40 Days for Life Vigil in Belfast, we were praying while our street counsellor talked with a young woman who was considering travelling to England for an abortion. After an intense time of prayer, the young girl agreed to meet with us the following week. However, when our counsellor telephoned her a week later, the young woman ignored her calls. So we continued to pray in faith that the unborn baby would be saved. To our joy, the young woman called two weeks later to say she could not go through with the abortion and was keeping her baby. Praise the Lord!

On another day, a young girl and her mother came out of the abortion referral agency and, to our surprise, stopped to talk to us. The mother told us her daughter had been raped and was pregnant. We told them we could help and would arrange for her see a professional counsellor. All the poor girl really needed was some moral support. We could see that she didn’t want to have an abortion; she was just terrified of telling her father about her situation. After speaking to us for over an hour, they finally left with new-found courage as we assured them of our prayers. The following day we received a call from the girl’s mother - the young girl had told her father. She told us how he had wrapped his arms around his daughter and promised he would support her and her baby, and that they would get through this difficult time as a family. Her mother concluded the phone call by telling me that when she had seen us on the street praying, she knew immediately we would help them.

During another day’s Prayer Vigil, a teenage girl came along with her mother and a child in a pram. They did not want to talk to us and rushed into the abortion referral agency. We prayed for her, knowing that what we can’t do - JESUS can do! Amazingly, within 15 minutes, they were both back out again, and this time they were willing to stop and talk to us. They told us that when they had went for their appointment, the counsellor refused to see them because they had the child in the pram with them - which was very unusual! Well, we all know that God sometimes works mysteriously. Thank God, we never saw them back at the referral agency again. I truly believe this little unborn baby was spared from abortion because we were there - being the hands, feet and the voice, of CHRIST.

While praying during our Vigil one evening, a young man stopped to talk to us. He said he was inspired to stop after reading our sign - Pray to End Abortion. He then shared with us a story. This time last year (this was during our 40 Days for Life Campaign in autumn 2009) he had been sharing a house in Belfast with a married couple. He told us how they had made plans to sell their home and travel the world - something they had always dreamed off. But their plans where shattered when they found out their first baby was on the way. They went to the FPA and booked an abortion. But, praise the Lord, after speaking to Precious Life volunteers and reading our literature, they cancelled the abortion. The young man told us that the couple are now living happily in a new home in the country with their precious little baby.

It was so encouraging to hear this story, because we don’t always get to know if the mothers we speak to outside the referral agencies actually go ahead with the booked abortions. But one thing we do know for sure is that the numbers of women travelling from Northern Ireland to have abortions in Britain are decreasing every year. Precious Life’s work goes on all year round. With our “365 Days for Life” campaigns we always expect to see these miracles. As we always say… “with God all thing are possible”

God bless,

Bernadette Smyth
Director
Precious Life

PS. Click on the link below for photos from our 40 Days for Life Autumn Campaign
40 Days for Life Pictures