KENNEWICK - As one group is spending 40 days outside of Planned Parenthood clinics praying to end abortion, the nonprofit agency is turning the protest into a fundraising opportunity.

Anti-abortion activists nationwide -- including a group in Kennewick -- are participating in the "40 Days for Life" vigil. They are sitting outside clinics where abortions are provided, praying, fasting and providing information about alternatives to abortion to anyone who asks.

Nancy Murray of Richland, one of the local organizers, said the event is a peaceful, grass-roots demonstration by people hoping to convince the public that abortion should be stopped.

"We are basically a group of volunteers that feels abortion is not the best solution," Murray said. "It hurts women, kills children and destroys families. There are better ways to deal with crisis pregnancy situations. We go out to pray for people who are undergoing abortions and the children who are lost."

But Anna Franks, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, said the nonprofit has found such demonstrations have inspired some patients and supporters to want to donate to the clinics. During the last demonstration campaign in March, the regional Planned Parenthood agency raised nearly $16,000, she said.

So for this fall's "40 Days for Life" event, Planned Parenthood is responding by asking supporters to donate through a "Pledge-A-Protester" campaign, in which they can make a pledge per protester or per day, or make a one-time donation.

Money raised will go toward education or to offset the cost of contraceptives for low-income people, Franks said.

Murray said her small group of activists plans to gather outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Kennewick from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Oct. 31.

She said they stay on public property and don't block access to the clinic, but do offer information if someone approaches them.

"This group does try to do an outreach to educate people about what abortion really is, how harmful it is," Murray said. "Several people, including myself, have been there and gone through these aftereffects. For that reason, we know how damaging and traumatic it is."

But Franks said many of the people who visit Planned Parenthood clinics aren't going there for abortions. Instead, she said, they're seeking contraceptives, testing for sexually transmitted infections, education or other reproductive health services.

And even people who are not there for abortions can be intimidated by demonstrators, she said.

"Some get yelled at or inappropriate remarks are made to them," Franks said. "I know of several patients who have left, although for the most part, people know they can come right on in."

Murray said she joined the demonstration, hoping that sharing her own experiences with abortion would convince women to make a different choice.

She said it took her 30 years to sort through the emotional fallout of having an abortion in 1973 at age 15. She kept the abortion, and her relationship with an older man, a secret from her family and found ways to rationalize what she had done so she could live with the decision.

Eight years later, she had a second abortion when she became pregnant again after a contraception failure.

"For a long time, I was pro-choice," she said. "I thought people couldn't understand what it was like, that they should leave women alone. The problem is too many women are left alone and don't feel they have any choice."

Murray said she was able to heal through faith -- by coming to the belief that God and the children she aborted had forgiven her so she could forgive herself.

Then she started speaking out. "I hoped some other young women would realize the impact this would have," she said.

* On the net: Planned Parenthood, ppgwni.org; "40 Days for Life," 40daysforlife.com/tricities

* Michelle Dupler: 509-582-1543; mdupler@tricityherald.com