Anti-abortion tour stops in Ventura

Joseph Hunter stood on the other side of the street from a Planned Parenthood facility in Ventura on Tuesday afternoon and led a group in prayer.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee," Hunter prayed as 30 or so people repeated the prayer.

"Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus," the 71-year-old lifelong Catholic prayed.

Hunter and others were gathered along Ralston Street awaiting the arrival of David Bereit. Bereit heads a group that campaigns against abortion across the United States and in other parts of the world.

"Every human life is just as valuable as mine," Hunter said as a sky-blue motorhome pulled up and parked in front of the group.

"They're here," a woman in the group exclaimed as Bereit and others stepped out of the motorhome and greeted those standing along the sidewalk.

Tuesday was Day 28 of a cross-nation tour that Bereit is conducting as part of his campaign, 40 Days for Life. In Ventura, he was met by a receptive crowd, although not all the stops have been as peaceful.

"We're going to visit all 48 states," Bereit said, noting that other members of the group are visiting Alaska and Hawaii as part of a campaign to end abortion. The organization plans on doing so city by city, Bereit said.

The 40-day tour started in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28 and will end in Virginia on Election Day, Nov. 8.

"Being in California has been the shot in the arm that we needed," Bereit told the group in Ventura on Tuesday afternoon. "We've received a tremendous amount of support here."

The organization began its nationwide tour on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We left from there because that's where abortion began," Bereit said, referring to Roe vs. Wade, a 1973 decision by the court that affirmed a woman's right to have an abortion. "We are here on the streets of the nation because that's where abortion will end."

Many lives that otherwise would have been lost to abortion have been spared as a result of this and other nationwide tours, Bereit said. But with abortion still legal across the United States, he told the crowd in Ventura that "we have to press on," noting that an estimated million lives are lost to abortion every year in this country.

As Bereit spoke, a woman from South Pasadena, Irene Zamorano, held a sign that read, "I regret my abortion."

Zamorano, a mother of seven children, vividly recalled how she aborted a baby girl years ago. The procedure involved an injection that ultimately led to the fetus' heart stopping, she said.

"I have to tell my seven children that their sister is dead because of a decision I made," Zamorano told the group, her voice choked with emotion.

Bereit's group began its day Tuesday in San Luis Obispo, with stops in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara before arriving in Ventura. Then it was on to Palmdale and West Covina, where members would spend the night Tuesday before setting out on Wednesday for Chula Vista, San Diego, Pasadena and other cities across the Southland.

In each city, a rally is held in front of a facility that provides abortions, Bereit said.

The Ventura event ended with Bereit encouraging those in the group "to pray and fast" as part of their campaign to end abortions.