Pro-lifers hail closure of Britain’s oldest abortion facility after 50 years
The Calthorpe Clinic abortion center in Edgbaston, Birmingham downed its shutters after 30 years of persistent prayer by pro-life Catholics and other Christians, It is responsible for killing over a quarter of a million babies over the last five decades.
The center, originally a home for the elderly, became the first in the United Kingdom to carry out abortions in 1969, two years after Britain’s Parliament passed its Abortion Act.
“People have been praying there for decades” said Stephanie Pyne who, along with many other dedicated Christians, has herself participated in peaceful vigils for nearly 30 years. For over 8 years the international prayer campaign 40 Days for Life has been running a witness twice a year outside the gates of this centre, offering alternatives and helping over 100 women to choose life.
The campaign was by no means exclusively Catholic with people from various Christian denominations uniting in a common cause. On occasions Muslims showed their support in various ways, if not by joining in themselves then by offering gifts to those who witnessed there. ‘It really was a community effort’
Some of the women told volunteers immediately of their change of heart and asked for support to continue their pregnancy whilst others returned years later to give thanks.
