Twenty years ago pro-life activists from across America met in Wichita, Kansas for the “Summer of Mercy.” A protest of late term abortionist George Tiller was the incentive for holding this gathering in Wichita, with pickets, marches, prayer vigils and rescues. Planned as a seven day event, it turned into seven weeks and spurred the growth of pro-life activism nationwide.
To commemorate the 1991 Summer of Mercy, and reinvigorate the movement, pro-lifers gathered in Germantown, Maryland last week for Summer of Mercy 2.0. This time it was centered on late term abortionist LeRoy Carhart.
Carharet left his abortion center in Nebraska hoping to replace Tiller in Wichita, but Tiller’s family said no. He then tried to work in Indiana, but a law was quickly passed to prohibit abortions after 20 weeks. Then he found a small clinic in Germantown, Maryland where there is no restriction on performing late term abortions.
To show solidarity with the activists, League National Director Joe Scheidler joined the “Summer of Mercy 2.0” in Maryland on August 1st and 2nd to pray with the gathering and talk on the growing success of the prolife movement, and need to renew our own dedication to the cause of the unborn. He said we must be determined to convert the nation to respect for human life.
During the first week of the protest Carhart’s abortion mill was closed. On Sunday, August 7th, more than 700 pro-lifers, most wearing red, formed a human cross that was photographed from the air. This photograph will be circulated to encourage similar gatherings across the country.
