Good Article "for" Life ~

Helen M. Bowerman
Submitted By: Cemetery of the Innocents
THURSDAY, JANUARY 22 2009 (Rappahanock News)

Three thousand, three hundred white flags have been planted in the lawn of Saint Peter’s Catholic Church on Route 211 in Washington, Va. Each flag in the lawn represents each human life taken by abortion each day. This Cemetery of the Innocents bears witness to the drastic loss of life caused by this American Holocaust.

While a great deal of attention is centered on the Jewish Holocaust, many choose to ignore the Holocaust occurring here in the United States. The number of Jewish children killed through abortion is twice as many as the Jewish people killed by Hitler. Blacks, who make up about one-eighth of the U.S. population, have more than one-third (37 percent) of America’s 2.1 million annual abortions.

If there was ever a racial crime, abortion is it. According to the Guttmacher Institute, which compiles reproductive health statistics, black women abort their children at five times the white rate and twice the Hispanic rate. The current rate is 11 abortions per 1,000 white women, 28 for every 1,000 Hispanic women, and 50 per every 1,000 black women.

But most surprisingly, women who have had abortions say that they never felt they had any other choice. They felt coerced into having an abortion by the baby’s father, or their family, or even by the fact that they could not afford to care for the baby.

A former abortion clinic owner has said than an abortion occurred every 50 seconds in the clinic. Even former clinic employees have spoken of the horrors of the clinics. Women are prevented from seeing their child on a sonogram, the baby is described as tissue, and they are rushed into the procedure to prevent them from changing their minds. Abortions are painful for women. They cause physical pain, and emotional pain. Many women who have had an abortion go through counseling, through programs such as Project Rachel. This program helps women who have endured pain caused by abortions, through a confidential phone line, referrals for professional counseling, and the assistance of a priest to provide spiritual counseling.

Women are not the only persons affected by abortion; men are also deeply affected by abortions. Many men suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) caused by the abortion of their child. Many of the boyfriends and husbands of women who have had abortions experience emotional numbing, diminished interest, detachment from others, reduced communication, a limited range of feelings, and a sense of a foreshortened future. Many also experience difficulty sleeping, eating disorders, anger, an inability to concentrate, and even suicidal thoughts. Clearly, the pain caused by an abortion is much greater than assumed by many, or even mentioned by abortionists.

One of the signs frequently seen at the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. says, “Abortion: One dead, One wounded.” Clearly, this is a fact. The only way to prevent this pain is to prevent the massive numbers of abortions provided in the United States. The Saint Peter Parish Committee for Life is devoted to reducing the number of abortions. They planted these flags to ensure that the devastating number of lives ended and affected by abortion each day will not be forgotten.

A great deal of help is needed to prevent abortions. United States citizens need to make their opposition to the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) known. This can be done by calling your senators and congressmen. Please join the Saint Peter Parish Committee for Life to bring an end to this Holocaust. For more information, please write to

Saint Peter Parish Committee for Life
P.O. Box 27
Washington, VA 22747
Additional Resources:
Project Rachel
www.arlingtondiocese.org/familylife/rachel.php
Sarah LaPierre, Project Director
Jo Balsamo, Program Coordinator
200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 814
Arlington, VA 22203
Telephone Number: (703) 841-2504
Helpline: 1-888-456-HOPE (4673)

E-mail: projectrachel@ arlingtondiocese.org