Contact: Amber Dolle, 40 Days for Life, 325-513-5857

MEDIA ADVISORY, Feb. 16 /Christian Newswire/ -- "I wish every city with an abortion facility will one day be able to participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign," said David Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life. "But for one night at least, we will be able to give people all over the world an opportunity to see firsthand what this unique pro-life outreach is all about."

40 Days for Life is kicking off its spring 2010 campaign with a live webcast tonight. The webcast begins at 7pm Eastern time and may be viewed online at www.ustream.tv/channel/40days.

The webcast will originate from Jackson, Mississippi -- one of the 165 communities in the United States, Canada, Australia and Northern Ireland participating in 40 Days for Life. The live event will feature Bereit, who helped organize the first 40 Days for Life campaign in 2004; Shawn Carney, the 40 Days for Life campaign director who was also part of that pioneering effort; and Abby Johnson, the former director of the Planned Parenthood center in Bryan, Texas who experienced a change of heart and left her job during the most recent 40 Days for Life campaign.

"Technology now exists that is permitting us to do something we have never been able to do before," said Bereit. "We want to use tonight's webcast to make sure that everyone can be a part of the excitement from the very start of this 40 Days for Life campaign -- and hopefully to encourage communities who have not yet participated in the campaign to join us in the future."

40 Days for Life consists of 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, 40 days of constant, peaceful vigil outside abortion centers and Planned Parenthood offices and 40 days of active pro-life community outreach. The list of participating communities is posted online at: www.40daysforlife.com/location.cfm.  

The 40 Days for Life movement continues to grow. Thus far, five coordinated national 40 Days for Life campaigns have been conducted, twice each year, beginning in the fall of 2007. More than 300,000 people in some 280 cities have already taken part. Five abortion centers have closed following 40 Days for Life prayer vigils. Some 27 abortion industry employees have quit their jobs, including Johnson.

"And most incredibly," Bereit said, "we are aware of 2,168 children -- and their mothers -- who were spared from the tragedy of abortion. And those are just the ones we know about."