Martina was curious. She had just discovered a new book which she had never seen before. She stumbled upon it on her brother’s bookshelf. Unabashed, she started to read it. Little did she know that this true story would change the course of her life forever.

It was 2014, and Martina from Slovakia had stumbled across the book Unplanned by Abby Johnson. The book was so addictive she was not able to put it down. Martina had been a pro-life Catholic all her life, but only after she finished the book, she realised what abortion really is, what it does and how much hurt it causes. She was stunned. Why had nobody told her about it? Why had she never heard about this from the pulpits of the Church? And most importantly, why had she never heard of 40 Days for Life before? How did she not know that such an awesome and successful movement exists? She was shocked.

Immediately, she started googling everything connected with Abby, 40 Days for Life, Shawn Carney and abortion. By this time, she was convinced that they needed 40 Days for Life in Slovakia. It simply had to be a campaign in the future! She began praying for it. Not only that, she began praying for abortion victims, vulnerable mothers, abortion doctors, prayer warriors and everything else connected with abortion and 40 Days for Life. The book had immediately put her life on a new pathway.

Initially, Martina hope to find someone (preferably a pro-life NGO) who could organise 40 Days for Life in Slovakia so that she could participate in it. However, after many discussions and research, she started to realize that she should be the one organising it. Martina realised that God was calling her to lead the first campaign in Slovakia. It was 2015. She started preparing everything, speaking about the campaign to anyone who would listen and getting ready with the website, banners and volunteers. She hoped to have the first campaign in Bratislava in the fall of 2016.

And she did. It took a lot of time, sacrifice and also some tears, but the first vigil was more than worth it. Many people participated, even in the rain, and at one time there were more than 20 volunteers in front of Hospital Kramáre, the first location. Slovak national television RTVS covered the vigil also.

In 2016, two famous singers in Slovakia, Janais and Peter Bažík recorded a special song which they dedicated to the campaign. It is called Blízko and has reached tens of thousands of people in small country of 5 million people with a message of hope for the babies and families. Slovakia also has the largest pro-life march in Europe, with 70,000 people usually attending, a very high number given the size of the country. In 2019, Sue Thayer spoke at the Slovakian March for Life and participants were fascinated to hear her story of transition from abortion worker to pro-life activist.

Slovakia also has the largest pro-life march in Europe, with 70,000 people usually attending, a very high number given the size of the country

Martina’s discovery on her brother’s bookcase has led to a nationwide prayer campaign. Since the first campaign in 2016, 40 Days for Life in Slovakia expanded. In 2017, there was another campaign in front of Hospital Kramáre in Bratislava, in 2020 in front of Hospital Ružinov in Bratislava and a private clinic Gynstar in Prešov; in 2021 in front of Hospital Ružinov in Bratislava and a private clinic Gynstar in Prešov; and in 2022 in front of Hospital Ružinov in Bratislava, a private clinic Gynstar in Prešov and Hospital Svet zdravia in Spišská Nová Ves. Although they stuggled a lot with volunteers, especially after COVID-19, it is very encouraging to see that there are still people willing to sacrifice their time and comfort for the sake of abortion-minded mothers and babies.

Martina has been able to help save 2 babies from abortion in 2016. Both of the children are little boys now and she is still in touch with their mothers who are extremely grateful that she encouraged them to keep their babies when they were considering abortion. Moreover, additional children were saved during the last campaign in 2022 and Martina’s team are helping the mothers during their pregnancy and birth of their children.

Another unexpected blessing came out of Martina’s pro-life activism: her fiancée Juraj. They started talking in 2016 when she was preparing the first campaign in Bratislava. He offered to help her with it and a pro-life romance began to blossom. Since then, Juraj has helped her every single campaign, they started dating, and the rest, as they say, is history. They plan to get married in 2023.

Slovak Campaign Promotional video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HXcQ_doClM&ab_channel=40DNÍZAŽIVOT

Janais and Peter Bažík video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNwK-BtyFU0&ab_channel=Janais