CHAPEL HILL - A national anti-abortion activist will visit Chapel Hill Tuesday to protest abortion services at the local Planned Parenthood.

Shawn Carney, national director of the "40 Days for Life" campaign, will speak at 6 p.m. outside Planned Parenthood on Dobbins Drive.

Chapel Hill is one of the many communities across the country where "40 Days for Life" campaigns are being held from March 9 through April 17.

Last week people, sometimes alone and sometimes in groups of three to five, knelt in silent prayer on the sidewalk outside Planned Parenthood, while the cars on U.S. 15-501 sped by.

For Roman Catholics and some other Christians, Lent represents 40 days of giving up indulgences. For Denice Medlin of the local "40 Days for Life" campaign, Lent is a time for peaceful dissent against Planned Parenthood's abortion services.

In North Carolina, abortions are legal during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. After that, there must be a substantial risk that the pregnancy would threaten the life or gravely impair the health of the woman, according to state law.

Medlin said the campaign seeks to "change the hearts and minds of people by offering information about alternatives to abortion."

"The 40-day campaign tracks Biblical history, where God used 40-day periods to transform individuals, communities ... and the entire world," according to the campaign website. "From Noah in the flood to Moses on the mountain to the disciples after Christ's resurrection, it is clear that God sees the transformative value of His people accepting and meeting a 40-day challenge."

Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Paige Johnson said the agency offers a range of health services and that "patients ought to be able to come in without being harassed or yelled at." She declined to answer specific questions about abortion services at the Chapel Hill office.

Members of "40 Days for Life" say they are not protesters, but "peaceful vigil volunteers."

Each member must abide by a "Statement of Peace," pledging to keep the driveway in front of Planned Parenthood clear by standing only in the public right of way, and not to use threatening or verbally abusive language when talking to Planned Parenthood employees, volunteers, or customers.

Carney has served as executive director of the Coalition for Life, a pro-life organization in Texas consisting of 60 churches and thousands of prayer volunteers, according to a news release.

He helped lead the first "40 Days for Life" campaign in College Station, Texas, seven years ago and has helped to coordinate "40 Days for Life" campaigns in hundreds of other communities, the release said.