Saint Joseph Church                            Pro-Life Committee
 

Chair –     Guy Parasch

636.527.0294
 
                                                                                                                              

 

 

 

 


Minutes

Wednesday, January 8, 2003

 

In attendance:

Dianne Muccigrosso                                           Vince Burkemper

Kevin Brady                                                          Wally Nowak       

                               

 

Meeting opened with recitation of the Divine Mercy

 

Welcome Fr. Bob Boisaubin

He is replacing Fr. Wetmore as our spiritual leader.

 

March For Life Bus Trip

Vince still has 18 openings on the 32 passenger bus.  He has 12 people confirmed and four 8th graders from the school.  Committee members volunteered to sponsor an 8th grader or other person to help fill up the bus.

 

30th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

The Archdiocese is sponsoring the annual Commemorative Mass on Saturday, January 18th at 8:00 a.m.  A prayer procession led by the Archbishop to Planned Parenthood’s abortion facility will follow.  Posters will be placed in the vestibule to inform parish members.    

 

Legal Update

Dianne reported on two recent state court rulings that hit abortion providers. 

·         In Louisiana, the state Supreme Court let stand a law that extends the statute of limitations for medical injuries related to abortion to 10 years and removes the damage cap that applies to other medical malpractice cases. 

·         In New Jersey, the appeals court found that a woman could sue her doctor for failing to tell her that “the fetus, although a person unborn, was a complete, separate, unique and irreplaceable human being.”  The court found the woman could pursue her claim for emotional distress based on lack of informed consent because her doctor described her fetus as “just blood and tissue” in response to her question (before the procedure) about whether her 7-8 week old fetus was a “baby.”

 

Priests for Life

·          November-December 2002 newsletter included an article about Perinatal Hospice in appreciation for the grief of parents who lose a child before birth.  There is growing acknowledgement that these are loses of a real person deserving of care, love and is grieved when lost.  The first studies investigating maternal responses to these tragedies recognize the need for counseling of parents in response to the loss of an unborn child, as well as children who live only a short time after birth. 

·         Child Protection Project:  Dianne asked for volunteers to find out dates and attend school board meetings in your school districts with her.  Both Vince and Kevin expressed interest. Life Dynamics and Priests for Life are collaborating on a project which can block Planned Parenthood's access to schools, and therefore to a large portion of their funding. The project builds on the evidence that abortion facilities nationwide break the law by failing to fulfill their duty as mandated reporters when they know or suspect that a minor is having sexual activity.  Any school district that refers students to Planned Parenthood therefore can incur legal liability. Every school district has been alerted to this liability via certified mail. Now, we are asking taxpayers to attend their local school board meetings and request an explanation of the school district's policy on this matter. For detailed information on this project, go to www.priestsforlife.org/schools/projectmemo.htm.

 

Lifeline Coalition.

The committee agreed with the decision to pass on this fund raising effort due to the recency of our having sold Birthright Christmas cards and other recent fund raising.  

 

Donut Sale

Wally questioned whether the Pro Life Committee was responsible for hosting the donut sale next Sunday.  Wally will contact Guy and call the phone tree for volunteers if needed.  Dianne will bring Life Matters video if needed.

 

NRLC National Convention to be held in St. Louis 2003

The National Right to Life Convention will be held in St. Louis next year over the July 4th weekend per Therese.  Mark your calendars now. There was discussion to perhaps raise money to sponsor people wanting to attend.

 

Spiritual Adoption

The PSR school will be starting a spiritual adoption program.  More information is available on the website for the Boston Archdiocese.  The posters are called “Sweet Little Ones.”

 

Meeting closed with Prayer for the Unborn.

 

Next Meeting March 12 at 7:30 p.m.

 

Pro-Life Mass –Pro-Life Committee Blessing

Tuesday March 25th - Feast of the Annunciation –All Invited and Welcome

 

Please continue to pray for Sydney Barnason, who is undergoing medical tests.

 

 

ACTION ALERT:

Contact your U.S. Representative and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 234, a genuine ban on human cloning at clerk.house.government/members/index.php.  Ask your U.S. Senators to introduce or cosponsor a genuine ban on human cloning at www.senate.government/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. 

 

 

 

"The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate, and serve the Gospel of Life in every situation……A sign of hope is the recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away."

-Pope John Paul II
Homily at Trans World Dome
St. Louis, MO
January 1999