ANTI-abortionists who held a prayer vigil outside Birmingham’s Calthorpe Clinic claim they have changed the minds of women who were considering a termination.

The 40 Days for Life campaigners, who maintained their stance outside the Edgbaston clinic from 8am until 8pm daily for 40 days, finished their demonstration on Sunday.

Supporters of a movement started in the United States of America in 2007, they say they are offering women realistic alternatives to abortion.

Campaign director for Birmingham Isabel Vaughan-Spruce said: “We are raising awareness of the issue and telling women and men there are realistic alternatives. A lot of women feel pressured into abortions because they don’t feel there is any alternative.”

The team say they can point women towards counselling services, but Isabel admitted the organisations they recommend are anti-abortion.

“There are different groups that offer counselling in Birmingham, but I would not refer someone to a group that promoted abortion as abortion is something I do not agree with.

“If you have an abortion you are just swapping one problem with another. If you do something like that then it will affect you psychologically and emotionally. A lot changes if you allow a life to be destroyed.”

And for Isabel and her team a foetus is a life.

“It has a beating heart at three weeks,” she said. “We would not even be debating if or not it was a human being if someone did not want to get rid of it.”

The campaigners have been pleased with the response to their demonstration.

“We are not there in a spirit of hatred and we are not trying to intimidate anyone,” said Isabel. “We are simply there giving out information to people.

“It has been very successful. We have had women saying they have changed their minds and lots of support from members of the public. We have also had people who were visiting the clinics for check-ups after an abortion say they wish we had been there when they had come for the abortion as they would not have gone ahead with it.” And they hope to build on the experience in the future.

“This campaign is twice a year, at Lent, and now so we will look to do it again this time next year.”

Among those taking part has been retired head teacher Jim Caffery, aged 66, from Solihull and retired office worker Chie Suzuki, aged 69, from Acocks Green.

Mr Caffery said: “It’s a prayer witness with people from across the Midlands to recognise the sanctity of life of the unborn child. We’ve had a mixed response from the public.

“Some people are aggressively pro-abortion but there is a change taking place that the unborn child is a baby and not a disposable clump of cells.”

Mr Caffery said the campaign consisted of mostly Christians and Catholics but they were open to people of all faiths.

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