The following comes from a November 6 Catholic News Agency article by Maggie Maslak:

After its 2015 fall campaign of prayer and fasting outside hundreds of abortion clinics around the world, the pro-life advocacy group 40 Days for Life says its efforts have been met with record-breaking results.

“We had 307 cities participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign in the United States and around the world, and we have really seen 40 Days for Life go into any environment and get the same result: moms choosing life at the very last minute,” Shawn Carney, campaign director of 40 Days for Life, told Catholic News Agency.

“We have 573 babies that we know of that have been spared from abortion. We saw during this campaign the announcement of four abortion facilities that are closing their doors where our campaigns have taken place, and we’ve seen hearts and minds change,” Carney continued.

The latest 40 Days for Life campaign was held from September 23 – November 1. The initiative began in 2004 in Texas and has now taken off internationally with hundreds of participating cities.

The mission of 40 Days for Life is to peacefully end abortion through prayer and fasting by keeping a constant 40-day vigil at abortion clinics around the world. The group also focuses on community outreach to those considering abortion or to those who have been involved with the abortion industry.

“Every campaign, we work with some of the abortion facility workers who have a change of heart and leave their jobs,” Carney said, highlighting the 118 ex-abortion industry workers who have joined the pro-life movement through 40 Days for Life since 2007.

Each community campaign is “detrimental to the abortion industry,” he said, in part because 40 Days for Life simply has more local numbers than the abortion industry. He called the abortion industry “top-heavy,” saying they are powerful in Washington, D.C., but have less influence in a community setting. Because of this, 40 Days for Life can thrive in communities around the world.

“[The abortion industry] are very weak at the grassroots level…and the grassroots level is where you are going to see the strongest victory,” he said.