One of the 40 Days for Life volunteers talked with a young man on the sidewalk outside of Planned Parenthood ? while his girlfriend was keeping an appointment inside.

?At the end of the conversation, the boyfriend went in and brought her out,? said Monique, the local campaign coordinator. ?At least on that day, we know the baby was not a victim of Planned Parenthood!?

Philadelphia?s Catholic archbishop stopped at the vigil recently. ?It was such a peaceful, beautiful atmosphere,? Monique said, when Archbishop Charles Chaput led prayer with about 30 people. There were also four clinic escorts present at the time.

?As the prayer began initially there was a respectful silence even among the escorts,? she said, though they later began chatting loudly. That did not affect the prayer.

The clinic escorts also seemed miffed that the police officers who were present treated vigil participants with respect. ?As we told them how much we appreciated their presence and how much we were praying for their safety, our officers were simply beaming,? Monique said. ?Thank God for our awesome relationship with these men and women of the law!?

David Brandao, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

With 40 Days for Life, David wears many hats. Prior to joining the 40 Days for Life team, he was an award-winning radio and TV journalist. He has also served as a board member for a pregnancy help center and as publications director for a major national pro-life organization.