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Rally revs up Siouxland pro-lifers

By Rosemary Bernth
Globe staff reporter
(Email Rosemary)

Pro-lifers across Siouxland united in prayer and preparation as they gathered at the 40 Days for Life Rally.

The event was held on Sept. 12 in the gym of the Epiphany Center where tables were set up with pro-life information, sign-up sheets, and 40 Days for Life clothing.

Working towards life

Karmen Bower, director of the Siouxland 40 Days for Life campaign, said she was pleased with the turn-out.

“It was great to see so many of the volunteers together and I enjoyed the opportunity to meet several of them,” she said. “The Epiphany Center was a great place to host it and I think that people left reenergized and optimistic about the campaign.”

One of these volunteers was Steve Elbert, who told the crowd he became involved with the campaign out of appreciation for his family.

“My wife and I experienced infertility for the first years of our marriage,” he said. “So we adopted Sam.”
Sam, who was originally from Korea, is now 17 years old and a senior at Bishop Heelan High School.

Elbert, who has been involved in several local campaigns and now works for Catholic Charities, also spoke out about the effects 40 Days for Life has on communities.

“Twenty-eight hundred children have been saved from abortion this past year, and those are just the ones we know about,” he said. “Hundreds of women and men have been spared from the pain and regret of abortion. Many individuals who have had abortion experiences in their past have found some type of healing. So 40 Days for Life is doing a lot of good.”

Bower, who is also the assistant director of religious education and family life for the diocese, said the campaign is a great way for people to make a change in America.

“As a nation, I think we need to hold ourselves accountable for the times we have failed to be proactive in the work to end abortion,” she said. “40 Days for Life is the perfect opportunity to step up to the plate and be a visible sign of the gospel of life to the community. People throughout the entire diocese can use 40 Days for Life as a time to pray for an end to abortion.”

Elbert said the campaign also helps others turn back to God with a renewed sense of hope.

“I know that every time we do this, each one of us gets a little closer to God, and that’s a good thing,” he said.

Gabriel’s Corner and Mary’s Choice

One of the guest speakers at the rally was Christine Wilson, executive director of Gabriel’s Corner, a Catholic-based pregnancy counseling center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She mentioned she went to the Father Corapi conference in Omaha and was happy to hear him say what his plan would be if he was ever bishop.

“He said if he was ever bishop, what he would do in that diocese is put up a crisis pregnancy center right next to all the abortion clinics in his diocese and abortion would end,” she said.

Wilson said she feels God has blessed them with being able to have Gabriel’s Corner close to Planned Parenthood and having the permission of the bishop to have the Blessed Sacrament there.

“We do exposition and have Mass,” she said. “This is a spiritual battle. If you’re standing out there or kneeling and praying, that is the Gospel. But if no one is there, evil is there and no one will protect those moms and babies. It takes warriors and no one is too old or young in this battle.”

Now Sioux City will be soon getting its own pregnancy counseling center near Planned Parenthood. It’s name – Mary’s Choice.

Mike Skaggs, executive director of the facility, announced the plans at the rally and said he asked his 13-year-old daughter and wife for name ideas. One of them was Mary’s Choice.

“My first thought was that I don’t want to use the word choice in the title because the other side uses choice,” he said. “My wife said Mary didn’t have to have Jesus. That was her choice, her decision. I still wasn’t sold on it so I drove to work and the only one that kept coming back was Mary’s Choice.”

Skaggs said they plan to open on Jan. 22 of next year, the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.

“There are a lot of good people out there that are finding out about it,” he said. “Things are moving along really well. There are about 710 abortion clinics in America and unless someone beats us to it, I would like to get it down to 709 or below 700 within the next couple of years.”

To sign-up for a 40 Days for Life time slot in front of Planned Parenthood, please contact Stormy Poss at (712) 943-5550.