40 Days of Life Performing Exorcisms At Ohio Abortion Clinic

The national anti-abortion network 40 Days for Life has decided to transition from prayer vigils outside an Ohio abortion clinic to something a little more spiritually aggressive. According to reports the group held an exorcism at the clinic this Sunday.

The group first sought the permission of the Rev. Steve J. Angi, chancellor of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati before organizing the satanic purge. Ruth Reddens, an organizer with the 40 Days for Life campaign explained the group would be holding a “exorcism of locality” which is designed to drive evil out of a place rather than a person.

Rick Pender, spokesman for Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, which refers local women for abortions and performs abortions at a clinic in Cincinnati, said, “This is America — people have a right to free speech. We don’t agree that we’re doing something evil. We’re providing a service that is needed and appreciated by a lot of people.”

The event included a reading of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, written by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and is one of the “minor” exorcism traditions in the Catholic faith.

Believe it or not this is not the first time anti-choice activists have turned to exorcism. A similar vigil was held in 2009 at a Rockford, Illinois clinic.

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Photo from photosteve101 via flickr.

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NickN R.

6:23AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

How can these "christians" purport to be following the principles of any sane religion. They nothing but a group Evangelical Taliban trying to drag this country back into the 30s or 40s, destroy healthcare for women and penalize the distaff side humanity for being born without a penis. This is totally ridiculous. Come on ladies, my mother would have been out in the streets buring her bra and occupying government buildings. Why are we setting on our butts allowing a bunch of far right wing radicals to hijack the Republican Party.

March 21
send a green star

KS G.

5:39AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

Thanks for the article.

Lydia W.

3:31AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

Let them have their say. Who knows it might help.

David L.

2:45AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

NOTE: to Leonard B.

There is no such thing as "Satan"...

"He" does not exist..

The concept was created nearly 1000 years after the beginning of Christianity, when the church swung it's teachings from an omnipotent and all-powerful and sometimes cruel God, (as depicted in the Old testament..) across to the "modern" idea of a good and caring and always nice God ~ in which case they then needed their "Satan" to shore up the good and evil balance. And so Lucifer was promoted from being merely the fallen ("cast down") archangel to what the conservatives and fundamentalists today portray as their "Satan".. Extremists always need some scapegoat to blame for their sins...

(There are a lot of us modern day Catholics (including us lapsed varieties..) who don't believe in Satan, do believe in evolution, believe in human rights and freedoms, and don't have much truck with the current Pope..).

2:08AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

"Exorcism of locality" !?!

What a lot of superstitious nonsense...

AS long as they stay out in a public space, that should be a problem for the police..

IF those pro-life loons do try and plant a foot onto private premises, or if they try to actually invade the clinic, then the staff and workers there ~ and any relatives or friends of clients who happen to be there ~ surely should be able to legally defend themselves with what ever is at hand ?

Baseball bats, axe and mattock handles, pitchforks all come to mind..

}:->

MD L.

1:10AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

That's it, I'm holding a seance to ask any local spirits of intellect and rational thought to possess the nearest anti-abortion group. . .

mike r.

9:11PM PDT on Mar 20, 2012

Looks like a twisted mix of politics ,paranoia and religious zealots,Throw some guns and money in there and you have the entirety of the GOP. Scary ain't it?

March 20
send a green star

Virginia B.

8:39PM PDT on Mar 20, 2012

"Mumbo-jumbo"!

Karen N.

8:25PM PDT on Mar 20, 2012

WHAAAAAT!!!!!!!!! EXORCISM!!!!! Are you people fricken NUTS. You stoop so low to try and shame . . .you only shame yourselves. Go home and be kind to other people.

Saliane A.

8:11PM PDT on Mar 20, 2012

This BS is allowed to happen but when kids protest about crappy school conditions they get accused of "thought crimes" and if they step outside there are police k-9 attack dogs waiting ?!?!?!?