View source for Bound4life

{{Short description|Grassroots organization}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2024}}
[[Image:Silent Siege US Supreme Court.jpg|thumb|200px|right|upright|Young adults pray in front of the U.S. Supreme Court with red life tape over their mouths.]]

'''Bound4LIFE''' is a [[grassroots]] [[anti-abortion]] organization originating in the [[United States]]. The [[non-profit organization]] was founded in 2004 by Lou Engle while gathered for silent [[prayer]] in front of the [[United States Supreme Court]] in [[Washington, DC]]. A major goal of the organization is to train and multiply the number of [[Christians]] that pray regularly for the ending of [[abortion]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://bound4life.com/about-us |title=about "bound4life" |access-date=2008-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320233633/http://bound4life.com/about-us |archive-date=2008-03-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>ABC News Nightline, "God's Interns", 11/29/05</ref>

== Activism ==
[[Image:Silent-Siege-April-26-2008-Richmond-Virginia.jpg|thumb|200px|left|upright|A 2008 "Silent Siege" where youth prayed silently for the ending of abortion.]]

The key identifying element of the movement is a piece of red tape with the word "LIFE" handwritten on it that is worn over the mouth during prayer gatherings. "Taping their mouths shut" is a voluntary way of promoting prayer as opposed to vocal [[protest]]. In this context, prayer is described as an appeal to God as the Judge of heaven and earth. 

The organization encourages participants to make a three-part pledge. The first deals with praying daily for abortion to end; presumably for the 1973 Supreme Court decision [[Roe v. Wade]] to be overturned. The second part calls for participants to only [[vote]] for [[candidates]] that support a similar point of view concerning abortion. The final part calls for participants to "obey [[God]] in acts of [[compassion]] and [[justice]]."<ref>[http://bound4life.com/make-the-covenant Make the covenant] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307081212/http://bound4life.com/make-the-covenant |date=March 7, 2008 }}</ref><ref>Jay Tolson, "Reading the Abortion Ruling", U.S. News & World Report, April 30, 2007, p. 36</ref> Sources state that over 320,000 participants have taken this pledge.

References are also made to promoting [[adoption]] as a legitimate alternative to abortion regardless of circumstances.

Bound4LIFE participants in the past have shown interest in and have attempted to directly and indirectly influence [[Federal government of the United States|federal]] and [[U.S. state|state]] [[legislation]] through personal contact and voter [[mobilization]].

== Reception ==
In its 5-year [[anniversary]] issue, [[Relevant Magazine]] listed Lou Engle and the red "LIFE" tape as one of the ''Top 35 Ideas That Have Changed the World''.<ref>Debra Rosenberg, "Battles on Three Fronts", Newsweek, April 30, 2007, p. 10</ref>

== References ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Anti-abortion organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian organizations based in the United States]]