Contact: David Bereit, 40 Days for Life, 202-280-8993

BRYAN/COLLEGE STATION, Texas, July 18, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- The most significant abortion center closure -- in the 40 years of legalized abortion since Roe v. Wade -- was made public today when Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, Inc. announced that it was shutting down its abortion facility in Bryan/College Station, Texas after fifteen tumultuous years in business.

In 2003, on the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, ABC's Nightline spotlighted pro-life efforts in Bryan/College Station and said the community was "shaping the abortion debate" in America. Since that time, the local Planned Parenthood abortion facility gained worldwide notoriety as:

• Site of the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign in 2004, an effort that has since grown into a worldwide pro-life mobilization of 575,000 volunteers in 501 cities around the globe; saving 7,536 babies from abortion, closing 37 abortion centers, and helping 83 workers to quit their jobs in the abortion industry
   
• Place where former abortion center director and Planned Parenthood employee of the year Abby Johnson experienced a conversion, quit her job, and became an outspoken pro-life advocate, going on to found And Then There Were None, a new ministry which has since helped 60 other workers to leave the abortion industry over the last year
   
• Home of the Coalition for Life, the grassroots organization which Planned Parenthood credited for making the community "the most anti-choice place in the nation" in which Planned Parenthood experienced its "most consistent and active" opposition in the nation

David Bereit, national director of 40 Days for Life, said: "This is epic news fifteen years in the making! Thousands of dedicated community members have faithfully prayed and held peaceful vigils outside this abortion center, offered hope and alternatives to turn away prospective Planned Parenthood customers, and educated the community about the harm of Planned Parenthood. These efforts, combined with the decisive action of the Texas legislature, have finally brought about this closure that is an answer to prayer."

Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life campaign director, said: "As the birthplace of 40 Days for Life and the place where Abby Johnson resigned after eight years working for America's largest abortion chain, this is a huge victory for the entire pro life movement! Peaceful and prayerful local opposition to abortion is ending abortion from the grassroots up."

Bobby Reynoso, executive director of the Coalition for Life, said: "I was surprised when Abby Johnson walked through our doors back in 2009, but today I am not. Victories like these should be expected when a community of faith stands up against the greatest injustice of the day. How little was my faith then, but today I'm reminded once again of how great a God we serve."

Abby Johnson, former Bryan/College Station Planned Parenthood abortion center director and founder of And Then There Were None, said: "This is what grace truly looks like. Knowing that the former abortion clinic I once ran is now closing is the biggest personal victory of my life. From running that facility, to then advocating for its closure, and now celebrating that dream ... it shows that my life has indeed come full circle. I am honored to have worked with so many who helped with my conversion and the closure of this facility. We will continue to fight until every abortion clinic in this country has shut its doors."