MARQUETTE -- A national campaign to end abortion has brought some clashing opinions to 3rd Street in Marquette.
   
Some participants from St. Peter's Cathedral have pledged to pray outside of Planned Parenthood almost daily until Easter as part of “40 Days for Life.”  It’s a first time the parish has actively participated in the campaign.

"We are offering these prayers for the people here; they've got nothing to fear from our prayers, that's all we have,” says Father John Boyle.
   
The group prays with rosaries and pictures of the Virgin Mary on the sidewalk for one to four hours.

“We don't wish any harm on anyone or have no ill will,” Boyle says.  “We feel they're involved in a great evil, which is the destruction of human life."
   
But the Marquette Planned Parenthood doesn't think the prayer is harmless.  In a statement to TV6 they said:

"No patient should have to feel that her well-being or privacy may be at risk when accessing health care.  Harassing and intimidating women does nothing to prevent unintended pregnancies."    
   
Planned Parenthood supporters have now gotten involved, staging their own demonstrations.  
 
"It can be intimidating for those using their services; we want those people to know they're safe and OK,” says community activist Jenni Brown.  “You can't just blindly believe what the church says; do some actual research about it."  

The center does not perform surgical abortions.  They do distribute emergency contraception, which the Catholic Church feels is also a destruction of life.

Both groups say they’ll be making appearances outside the center until Easter, and they support each other’s freedom of speech rights.