Record-breaking storm does not stop prayer for the unborn

Intermountain Catholic

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Donna Masek (left) and her daughter pray ?for the little babies and that abortions stop,? said Masek. The Maseks have been attending the service prayer for years. IC photo by Priscilla Cabral

SALT LAKE CITY — Not even a storm that broke a 22-year precipitation record in Utah could stop more than 50 people from gathering at the Risen Savior Mausoleum in Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery to pray for those babies whose lives were ended by abortion.

"Saving babies is such an important issue, especially during the Roe v. Wade (36th) anniversary," said Rachel Moore, who along with her husband Tim serves as the Knights of Columbus pro-life chair couple.

Roe v. Wade is the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal nationwide. This decision gave women total autonomy over their pregnancy during the first trimester and defined different levels of state interest for the second and third trimesters.

So, every year on the Sunday closest to the day of the anniversary, the pro-life commission of the diocese organizes a service prayer of the Rosary for those babies who lost their lives, for the elderly and the sick who were euthanized, the parents who decided to terminate a pregnancy, and for the doctors who practice abortions and euthanasia. This year, however, instead of the Rosary, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recommended that participants reflect on the Stations of the Cross for Life.

"Jesus dying has a relationship with all the babies dying," said Sarah Masek, 12.

The number of abortions being performed is overwhelmingly high.

"187,000 abortions are done every day (in the world)," said Veola Burchett, director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, at the end of the service prayer.

"Something has got to happen. Something has got to stop," she said.

Transgressions against human life cannot be halted only through legislation, but also through prayer, said Burchett.

The pro-life movement will need a lot of prayer especially now that President Barack H. Obama has ended the Mexico City Policy. This was a ban that prevented taxpayer money to be used to fund international organizations that perform or provide information about abortion in developing countries. The Mexico City Policy has been reversed and reinstated with changes in administration since its establishment by former President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

President Obama has also pledged to sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), which would codify Roe v. Wade protections to further ensure a woman’s right to a pre-viability abortion without undue interference by the state.

Politicians in favor of FOCA argue that public policy cannot be based on religious views.

"…the doctors of the (Catholic) church have not been able to make that definition (when life begins)," said Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House and a Catholic, during a Meet the Press interview with Tom Brokaw Aug. 24, 2008.

Representatives of the church were quick to refute Pelosi’s comments by saying the teaching of the church has been for 20 centuries that life begins at the moment of conception.

"The teaching of the church was clear in a Roman empire that permitted abortion," said Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a statement issued Sept. 2, 2008. "This same teaching has been constantly reiterated in every place and time up to Vatican II, which condemned abortion as a ‘heinous crime,’" said Cardinal George.

While many say different variations of Pelosi’s "I don’t think anybody can tell you when… human life begins" statement, Doctor Maureen L. Condic, associate professor of neurobiology and anatomy at the University of Utah School of Medicine, reports in her article "When Does Human Life Begin?: A scientific perspective" that life begins at the moment of conception, when sperm and egg fuse to make a new hybrid cell called a zygote.

"Zygotes have a unique property of being able to both make all the cells of the body and to organize those cells into a coherent, inter-related body. No other cell is able to do this. Even cells that are very good at making many different types of tissue (embryonic stem cells, for example) are not able to organize those cells into anything other than a tumor. This means that zygotes are unique cells that are uniquely able to be the starting point of human life," said Dr. Condic in an interview with the Intermountain Catholic.

The fact that life begins at a well-defined scientific moment is a clear scientific conclusion, she said. Nonetheless, some scientists might object to her findings for personal reasons.

"It is my sincere hope that my paper will help ground the debates over issues related to the human embryo in scientific facts, rather than in power, politics, emotion, and personal opinion. Starting with the best available science is not a guarantee that the conclusions will be fair and reasonable, but it is a good place to start," said Dr. Condic.