PALM BEACH GARDENS | Former abortionist Dr. Haywood Robinson, who has been part of 40 Days for Life since its 2007 beginning in Texas, gave an inspiring talk Oct. 18 in the Family Life Center at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola.
Mary Ellen Chajkowski, the leader of 40 Days for Life that maintains a vigil during Lent and in the fall outside the Presidential Women’s Center off 45th Street in West Palm Beach, thanked Father Gavin Badway, cathedral rector, for allowing the group to use the cathedral hall. She also expressed appreciation for the national arm of 40 Days for Life, which helped bring Robinson and his wife, Daphne, to Palm Beach County during their Florida speaking tour.
Chajkowski thanked volunteers and vigil leaders for their dedication in “helping us sustain a presence on the sidewalk across from this abortion center that’s been in operation for 44 years.”
Briefly touching on how he was lured into the abortion business as a “side hustle” in the pursuit of more money, Robinson focused his talk on abortion as “the greatest holocaust in the history of humankind.”
“Abortion is not a United States problem,” he said. “Abortion is a global attack on preborn children. The United States accounts for 2%, just 2% of the abortions on the planet. The remaining 98% or 97% is the rest of the world. We’re talking about 63 million babies killed by abortion every year on our planet.”
Also, abortion isn’t a problem that will go away if Florida’s voters defeat Amendment 4 in the Nov. 5 election, said Robinson, who is director of medical affairs and education for 40 Days for Life and whose conversion from an abortion doctor to a pro-life activist is detailed in his book, “The Scalpel and the Soul.”
“It’s a human tragedy of unprecedented proportion, and that’s where you guys come in, where God has raised up the single largest pro-life, grassroots organization ever, and that’s the 40 Days for Life, and you guys are part of it,” he said, adding that it’s the faithful, rain-or-shine sidewalk prayer warriors who make the most difference. He cited an estimate that up to 75% fewer abortions are performed at centers where a pro-life vigil is maintained.
In 17 years, 40 Days for Life has grown from 15 to 20 people praying to stop the killing in College Station, Texas, to campaigns in about 1,000 cities in 70 countries, Robinson said, adding that the strongest and fastest-growing component of 40 Days for Life is in Latin American.
“When you’re out there with your feet on the ground, you’re connected with those several hundred more campaigns,” he said. “When there’s a baby saved in Los Angeles, California, you’re part of that through the Holy Spirit.”
Noting that 40 Days for Life is a “predominantly Catholic-led organization,” Robinson said it has been able to “be inclusive in other Christian faiths and denominations in a way that we’ve got to recognize. We can’t allow the enemy to use the old tactics of divide and conquer among us. We have one person who saved us all, and we’ve got one enemy, and we will not be divided or conquered.”
To join 40 Days for Life, email Chajkowski at Palmbeach_40days@yahoo.com, visit www.40daysforlife.com or email info@40daysforlife.com.
