#40daysofchoice

40 days for life are back.... But so are we!

This Lent we're suggesting a pro-choice action for every day, and we're raising money for Abortion Support by asking you to give a sum for every day that 40dfl spend standing outside clinics.

Here is one of the leaflets 40 Days for Life are handing out to people outside abortion clinics in the UK. They say they can 'provide you with sound medical advice' and then go on to give false information about abortion like claiming it gives people breast cancer and makes them infertile.

Also, particularly nasty is the suggestion that having an abortion will cause suicidal thoughts, eating disorders and drug abuse and 'damage to maternal instinct and to bonding process with any other children you have'.

That’s right. We were at the BPCA opening event in Stratford last night, and pleased to see so many others turn up to support our right to access reproductive health care free from harassment. 

From today, anti-choice protesters will be outside abortion clinics in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Leamington Spa, Milton Keynes and Manchester. If you want to help us show them they’re not welcome, here’s what you can do:

Make a donation! For every protester that turns up outside your local clinic, give a quid to pro-choice education project Education For Choice. Or just give a quid for every day they’re there!

Promote the ‘piss-off a picket’ campaign by word of mouth and by sharing on social media. Use the hash-tag #PissOffAPicket to get us trending on Twitter!

Email us [email protected] or tweet us @40DaysofChoice to keep us informed of what’s going on in your local area – help us count the picketers!

In response to the opening of a Marie Stopes Clinic in Belfast. 

About a year ago on my way into work in Bloomsbury (I'm a receptionist at a small software company) I noticed some protesters had gathered on Bedford Square, near my office. Ever the protest enthusiast, I went over to take a look and was shocked to discover that they were anti-choice protesters! Firstly, because I had no idea that there were still people around who were actively against a woman's right to choose, and secondly because up until that point, I wasn't aware that I worked right by the London BPAS office.

A disappointed status update was duly added to Facebook that a couple of people responded to. One friend, Jim Turner said:

Carmen, do '40 days of treating the staff of BPAS', and get people to chip in. I'm good for a Chupa Chups tree.

And then Liz said:

Also, I'm up for giving the BPAS staff treats

And so a mini campaign was born.

On the first day, I took round some Jaffa Cakes, my personal favourite. The receptionist thought it was hilarious and had no problem with me buying them sweets. When I dropped them round, their office manager came out to thank me and I was glad that it was well received. Apparently these protesters have been campaigning out here twice a year since 2011. They do 40 days at Lent and another 40 in September/October. As a former Catholic Sunday school teacher, I feel that I understand part of where they are coming from. They want to protect their belief in the lives and souls of these 'unborn children' and are probably frustrated by the thought that nobody else seems to share their views. Such is the joy of living in a largely secular society that they can hold these views publicly without fear of impunity.

That being said, my thoughts are with the humans they target in all of this - the women, staff and families who have to face this harassment  I make no assumptions about the choices others make, but I am grateful that I have grown up in a society where those choices are available to me should I need to make them, and strongly believe that everyone should have the same rights as we in England, Scotland and Wales do.

If you'd like to join in, you can:

1. Buy a treat and take it to your local BPAS, Marie Stopes, or other family planning centre to show your appreciation for the work that the staff do. I take pre-wrapped sweets so that they can put them out on reception for those with appointments, but other people have taken fruit, flowers, cards, or just popped in to say hello.

2. Send tweets and messages of support to BPAS, the BPCA, and any other pro-choice organisations.

3. If you have the time, find out from them if there’s other positive action you can take to show your support. This could be volunteering at events, writing to your MP, or just turning up to pro-choice rallies to boost numbers.