On Monday, April 30, approximately 150 to 200 people attended the hearing of the Westchester County Board of Legislators on a bill that would restrict the free speech rights of prolife witnesses outside abortion clinics.

The vote is scheduled for next Monday, May 7. Click here for a letter from Sister Lucy Marie of the Sisters of Life, appealing for a redoubling of prayers and sacrifices for the conversion of hearts on this issue.  It includes insights from Ed Mechmann, an attorney from the Archdiocese of New York, on how such hearings can help the prolife cause:

I thought that having so many “regular people” on our side — as opposed to the largely institutional witnesses on the other side (e.g., employees and activists from Planned Parenthood) — was a very good thing.  I think that the legislators are more impressed when lots of people testify who don’t make a living out of the issue at hand.  Five voters count for a lot more than one “spokesman.” — Ed Mechmann

On Monday evening, April 30, the Westchester County Legislature will hold a public hearing on proposed legislation that would allow abortion clinic facilities to sue anyone who — in their opinion — has harassed or intimidated a person trying to gain access.

Please read this opinion piece submitted to the Journal News by the co-directors of the Hudson Valley Coalition for Life against this attempt to use the law to intimidate peaceful people who are expressing their views against abortion.

On April 18, the Journal News hosted a debate regarding the “Clinic Access Bill” — a bill currently under consideration in Westchester — which seeks to suppress the right to protest at abortion clinics. Click here to view the video of this discussion.

The pro-life free speech advocates were Tom Faranda and Judy Anderson, the co-directors of the Hudson Valley Coalition for Life, and Antoinette Consentino, MD, a pediatrician.

Speaking of free speech, according to the website LifeNet, it looks like the time allotments at this debate were a little lopsided:

• The anti-free speech, pro-abortion side got 26 minutes, including the first nine minutes 26 seconds.
• The free speech advocate, pro-life side 18 minutes.

Beginning at noon and Good Friday and continuing through the night and on until noon on Holy Saturday, people came to pray for the victims of abortion.

At this most solemn time of the year, they prayed that Planned Parenthood, the “modern-day Calvary,” will move out of our community.

A committed prolifer carried his message about Planned Parenthood to Rockland Community College on Sunday, March 11. That’s where the nation’s largest abortion provider was to be found that afternoon, handing out their propaganda to the children of Rockland attending the County YouthFest. His signs provided some serious food for thought as the festival-goers approached the campus. They read “Planned Parenthood Will Kill 1000 Babies This Week” and “Planned Parenthood Is Aiding and Abetting Underage Sex Trafficking With Your Tax $.”

Even though the next 40 Days of Life won’t officially start until Sept. 28,  the prayer warriors have been coming throughout the summer to the Planned Parenthood site on Perlman Drive in Spring Valley to pray for the conversion of the hearts of those who work at this facility and that young people will be protected from the indoctrination of this multi-billion dollar industry that is constantly recruiting more customers for their contraception and chemical abortions.

Please prayerfully consider taking an hour at the next 40 Days of Life, which will be held from Sept. 28 through Nov. 6.