National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children to be marked in Diocese in September

IN MEMORY OF THE UNBORN  Around the Diocese, Memorials for the Unborn can be found at parishes and cemeteries and next month, National Day of Remembrance for Unborn Children will be observed on Sept. 18 at some of these locations. Pictured is the memorial at Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Franklin.

PARSIPPANY  While the fight to protect unborn babies in the womb continues, pro-life Americans will take a day to remember the millions of babies who have never had a chance to be born and grow up in God’s image and likeness.

On Sept. 18, the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children will be observed with outdoor memorial services in the Diocese and all across the country. Parishes and pro-life groups will be hosting these events, many at memorial sites on parish grounds and parish cemeteries. Last year, 196 memorial services were held to ensure that these babies will never be forgotten.

Morris County Right to Life will host a memorial service at 1:30 p.m. on the day of remembrance in St. Christopher Church here. The church has a memorial for unborn victims on its campus. At the prayer service, the Way of the Cross for the Unborn will be recited as well as additional prayers and the singing of hymns.

Lisa Hart, vice president of Morris County Right to Life and a parishioner at St. Patrick in Chatham, said, “Across the country, we will be praying in remembrance of the many, many lives lost to legalized abortion in our country since Roe v. Wade in an unprecedented act of judicial tyranny to legally take the life of an innocent human person.”

In Clifton, the St. Philip’s Knights of Columbus Council 11671 and the Columbiettes 1167 will host the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children on Saturday, Sept. 25 following the 9 a.m. Mass in St. Philip the Apostle Church at the parish’s memorial marker for the unborn.

According to organizers of the day of remembrance, the locations of these memorial sites are also located in the Diocese at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Franklin, and on the campuses of St. Joseph Parish in Mendham, and St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Stirling.

New Jersey is one of the few states in the country that does not have any major restrictions on abortions, such as waiting periods, mandates for parental involvement, or limitations on publicly funded abortions — often found in many other states.

Throughout the state, pro-life organizations continue to fight for equal rights for babies in the womb by calling for state senators and assembly members to support and pass A2228/S429, the “Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.” Also known as the 20/20 Project, the act will ban abortions after 20 weeks in the state. There is substantial medical and scientific evidence that babies in the womb feel pain by 20 weeks or 5 months post-fertilization.

Currently, Democratic pro-abortion lawmakers in the state, led by Gov. Phil Murphy, are advocating for the passage of the Reproductive Freedom Act, which will allow late-term abortions right up to the birth of a child in the womb. The bill also includes the language that “a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus shall not have independent rights under the laws of this state.”

The bill permits non-physicians to perform abortions; nullifies conscience clauses for medical personnel, who are against abortion; mandates an annual allocation of taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood under Title X in the state budget; exempts prosecutions for individuals who terminate or attempt to terminate their own pregnancy, and requires all insurance carriers to provide coverage for abortions and expand coverage for contraceptives.

The National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children was first observed in 2013 coordinated by Citizens for a Pro-life Society, Priests for Life, and the Pro-life Action League. At many of these memorial sites, the remains of aborted babies have been given proper burials. According to the event sponsors, many were retrieved from trash dumpsters of abortion clinics or pathology labs where the bodies of the aborted unborn were shipped. Some graves have hundreds of bodies of aborted babies buried in them.

For those who have experienced loss through abortion, Hart reminds all that there is hope. The Sisters of Life, a religious order dedicated to protect human life, offers help and healing. Rachel’s Vineyard, an organization that offers weekend retreats for post-abortive women and men, is also a resource. “They both offer retreats and counseling for those who seek to heal their wounds and ask Our Lord for his redemptive healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”

In addition to the day of remembrance, the Morris County Right to Life invites all to join them by committing to pray one rosary a week (marianbluewave.com) or a holy hour of prayer each week or each month (hoursforlife.com).

“We pray in remembrance of the lost babies, for the families who have lost a loved one and who are struggling daily to live with this loss, the siblings and grandparents who lost a family member, and for the moms who suffer terribly both physically and emotionally, as well as the dads who realize that they did not protect their children,” Hart told The Beacon.