How do I Respond to “Practice” of Abortionist, LeRoy Carhart? Pray. Act. Support Parents.

By: Susan Gibbs, Office of Communications

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Yesterday’s Washington Post ran a sympathetic profile of late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart. Although he lives in Nebraska, Carhart decided to open shop in neighboring Maryland last year, as the state has virtually no restrictions on abortion.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

 The article is chilling. We learn that 60 unborn children are aborted every month, six to 10 of them late in pregnancy. He performs abortions up to 32 weeks, which is seven months into a pregnancy. Many children are born that early so why not just help a woman deliver her child? Because he is a man on a mission, a gruesome mission that he has brought to our community. As he tells a reporter, these children have “anomalies,” which is why he aborts them.

 That’s right: he aborts children because they are not perfect. But then again, who of us is?

 How imperfect does a child need to be? He gives an example of one child he aborted who would have been paralyzed from the waist down if allowed to live. Apparently, it is better off to be dead than to be in a wheelchair.

This is the horrific reality of abortion. It is not an easy slogan about “choice.” Abortion is a child who is dead, a mother who is devastated and a world in which people with disabilities are sent the message that their lives are worthless.

 It can be hard to step into the abortion debate, but as people of faith, we must. Not only is it a matter of life and death for the child, it’s also a matter of spiritual death for all those who partake in abortion.

 As Pope Benedict XVI said earlier this year, “It is necessary that the whole of society defend the right to life of the conceived and the true good of the woman, who never, under any circumstance, will be fulfilled in the choice of abortion. In the same way it is necessary … to provide the necessary help to women who sadly have already taken recourse to abortion, and who now experience all its moral and existential tragedy.”

 Please join us as we pray, act and support parents who are in difficult circumstances.

 Pray

• The Diocese of Arlington’s Office for Family Life’s Project Rachel Ministry has initiated a 30-day prayer campaign for the intention of healing all those who have participated in abortion. The official novena began on July 16 (Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) and goes until Aug. 15 (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary). The Project Rachel Office encourages you to choose your favorite Marian prayer, the rosary or the chaplet of divine mercy and pray it each day through Aug. 15.
• Join the Archdiocese of Washington and the Archdiocese of Baltimore, who are cosponsoring the “Summer of Mercy 2.0,” a peaceful, prayerful presence for life July 30-Aug. 7 in Germantown, Md., and Washington, D.C.

 Act

• Make sure you know what is happening in Virginia. If there are any public policy issues to weigh in on, the Virginia Catholic Conference will get the word out. Simply sign up for the VCC Advocacy Network.
• Consider helping to spread the message of  love and mercy to all those on the road by ordering magnetic bumper stickers from the Arlington Diocesan Office for Family Life’s Project Rachel Ministry. The bumper stickers read, “Help After Abortion, 888-456-HOPE.”  Order online, at projectrachel@arlingtondiocese.orgor (703) 841-2755.
  

  Bumper sticker from the Arlington Diocesan Office for Family Life’s Project Rachel Ministry.

 Support

Parents facing difficult pregnancies need to know we care, and women and men who have been involved in abortions need to know that God loves them and has unending mercy.

• Support your local pregnancy center and the Gabriel Project.
• If you or someone you know is struggling with a difficult prenatal diagnosis, contact Isaiah’s Promise for understanding and support.
• If you or someone you know has had an abortion, please accept Bishop Loverde’s video invitation to discover God’s Mercy through Project Rachel.