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Anti-abortion campaign ends with Victory Rally
Dan Eakin/Staff Photo - From left, McKinney 40 Days for Life campaign supporters Amy Morris, Paul Borchard, Jackie Lee and Jan Storey stand with signs in front of Planned Parenthood in McKinney. Since Feb. 22, campaign supporters have taken turns holding signs every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., even during the rain.
By Dan Eakin, deakin@starlocalnews.com
The McKinney 40 Days for Life campaign, formed to oppose abortion, began Feb. 22 and concluded Sunday with a Victory Rally.
The rally began in front of Planned Parenthood, located on the northeast corner of Medical Center Drive and Eldorado Parkway in McKinney, where campaign supporters have been standing with anti-abortion signs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily since the campaign began.
Following a 6 p.m. prayer at the site, the group continued the rally at 7 p.m. at St. Michael Catholic Church, located at 652 N. Rosebud Road.
Paul Borchard, leader of the local campaign, said the effort is “an ecumenical” project with people from various denominations and religious organizations participating.
The campaign is one of many throughout the nation that have set up in front of Planned Parenthood clinics with signs and prayed, fasted and reached out to the community.
Borchard said he joined other leaders of the campaign for a training session in Washington, D.C. before taking on a leadership role for the local campaign.
“We are praying that, with God's help, we will end abortion in Collin County and across the country,” Borchard said.
Vigil participants were asked to sign a statement agreeing to protest peacefully. They were told not to yell at people going into the clinic, and not to leave the sidewalk and surround anyone entering the clinic.
Planned Parenthood also offers numerous health services for women, but is believed by some to be the largest abortion provider in the U.S.
A man had taken his wife to the McKinney Planned Parenthood to receive health services. While waiting for her to come out of the clinic, he visited with the people standing on the corner with signs, and volunteered to hold up a sign until his wife exited from the clinic.
Since Feb. 22, Borchard said many people have dropped by to visit with campaigners to express their support and to pray with them.
“Several have told us they oppose abortion, but just didn't know how to go about helping to end it,” Borchard said.
He also said many women seek abortions because they are not aware of the many alternatives to abortion, and of the numerous organizations that can help in other ways.
“Many times, they learn that their problem is not as serious as they think it is,” he said.
He offers anyone considering an abortion a flier that lists several crisis pregnancy resource centers. Among them are the White Rose Women's Center and the Birth Choice Counseling for Women, both in Dallas.
Similar help is offered at the HOPE Resource Center of McKinney at 2740 Virginia Parkway, Ste. 200. Women may also find assistance by calling 972-BABY DUE.
The 40 Days for Life campaign originated at College Station when just a few people gathered with signs and prayed in front of a clinic. It swiftly grew into not only a national, but an international effort.
Dan Hoff, communications coordinator for the McKinney 40 Days for Life campaign, said there are at least 496 confirmed reports of women who changed their minds about getting an abortion after seeing the signs and/or receiving counseling from participants at one of the many campaigns that are running concurrently.
“We have no idea of how many more may have changed their minds, but just never came and told anyone,” Hoff said.
Also as a result of the campaign, several abortion workers have quit their jobs, Hoff said.
He said that as many as 30 people have gathered to pray at the intersection in front of Planned Parenthood in McKinney, and that likely more than 300 have participated in some way since during the campaign.
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