Pro-life campaign to launch 40-day vigil

The Daily Inter Lake

Pro-life supporters from throughout the Flathead Valley are participating for the first time in the national 40 Days for Life campaign, starting with a candlelight vigil at 11:30 p.m. tonight in front of the Planned Parenthood office in Kalispell.

Local pro-lifers will be involved in prayer and fasting, community outreach and a round-the-clock peaceful vigil at Planned Parenthood, 795 Sunset Boulevard off U.S. 93, to bring attention to the campaign's message of choosing life over abortion.

The campaign continues through April 5.

"We're hoping to show there are resources for women," said Karen Trierweiler, a local spokeswoman for 40 Days for Life.

"We want to work in the community for alternatives' to abortion.

Trierweiler moved to Kalispell a year and a half ago from Brookings, S.D., where she led the Right to Life effort there for some time. She started a prayer effort last spring at Planned Parenthood in Kalispell, then expanded that effort to include weekly prayer sessions at All Families Health Care, also in Kalispell. She also leads weekly pro-life prayer sessions at her church.

"I feel God has prepared me for this," she said about the upcoming 40-day campaign.

The 40 Days for Life event began four years ago in College Station, Texas, and now is staged in more than 200 cities in America. 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.

Those wanting to participate in the campaign can contact Trierweiler at 890-2297, e-mail trierw@bresnan.net or follow the campaign through the local Web site link at www.40daysforlife.com/kalispell.