In it for life

Rain hasn't dampened spirits at 40-day vigil

Snow swirled around Kayla Yeager as she adjusted her umbrella to block the biting wind on Tuesday.

Carol Freeman had the hood of her thick winter jacket pulled tight around her face. Both women stood on a wood pallet to lift them out of the mud in front of the Planned Parenthood office.

Pro-life supporters are in the final stretch of their 40 Days for Life campaign, part of a national effort to bring attention to a message of choosing life over abortion. And here in Kalispell, the winterlike weather perhaps has been the biggest challenge for the more than 500 pro-lifers spending time in shifts at a round-the-clock peaceful vigil.

"We've been very tested," said Karen Trierweiler, director of the Kalispell area effort, "but things have gone tremendously well."

The weather was so bad the first night of the vigil - Ash Wednesday - that Yeager didn't make it home to Columbia Falls and had to stay with a woman in Evergreen. She has been spending time at the vigil twice a week, for about an hour at a time after she attends the noon Mass at St. Matthew's Catholic Church, and refused to let the weather get the best of her.

"Every snowflake is a kiss from God," Yeager said. "It's just a sacrifice we have to make."

Barb Robbins, who was finished with her shift and headed home to warm up, said it's been an "awesome" experience for her and fellow pro-life supporters.

"It's a blessing to those who've been out here," she said.

Freeman agreed, adding that the foul weather "is nothing compared to what babies [who are aborted] go through."

Freeman has been encouraged by the wide-ranging support the vigil has gotten. Several church youth groups have sent brigades of teenagers to spend time at the site along U.S. 93. Another time, a lone high-school boy came and spent time because his mother told him "this is the right thing to do." One high-school girl has been coming almost every day before school.

Men take the nighttime shifts, Trierweiler said. Getting volunteers hasn't been a problem.

"It's actually been easier to get people for 2 a.m. than for 2 in the afternoon," she said.

A woman who had an abortion at age 16 and now is unable to have more children joined the vigil recently.

"We have had post-abortive women come forward," Trierweiler said, noting that one woman was inspired by the vigil to attend a Rachel's Vineyard retreat for women experiencing post-abortion trauma.

"She's been on a journey of healing for some time," Trierweiler said. "It's been totally humbling to see the greatness of the movement of what's happened here."

The 40 Days for Life event began four years ago in College Station, Texas, and this year is being held in more than 125 cities in America. In Montana, pro-life groups in Helena and Livingston staged vigils similar to Kalispell's event.

According to the event's Web site, www.40daysforlife.com, some locations have reported as much as a 28 percent drop in the number of abortions.

James Compton, the campaign's communications coordinator, said that this year's event, which ends April 5, has had tangible results. More than 250 mothers nationwide have decided to keep their babies in the last 30 days, he said.

"A powerful impact has been made, and we look forward to a very strong finish," Compton said in a prepared statement last week.

The Kalispell vigil will have a closing prayer ceremony at 6 p.m. on Monday at the vigil site. A victory rally is planned for 6 p.m. April 13, but the location is still pending. It will be a potluck supper and fellowship time with an open forum for people to share their experiences.

Stacey Anderson, director of public affairs for Montana Planned Parenthood, said the picketers have had no impact on the Kalispell office's operation.

"We had no drop in patient numbers," Anderson said. "In fact, they saw an increase in donations and more support from the community."

She said supporters of Planned Parenthood called to offer support and some well-wishers even stopped by to bring lunch to the Kalispell clinic staff.

According to the Kalispell office's Web site, the agency offers abortion pills, known as medication abortions, pre- and post-abortion patient education, post-abortion follow-up examinations, referrals for abortion services and referrals for abortion-related counseling.

The Web site further states that several other services are available at the office at 795 Sunset Boulevard off U.S. 93, including testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, women's and men's health services, pregnancy testing and hormonal treatments and service referrals for transgender clients.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com