National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children Held by Pro-life Advocates

A pair of pro-life groups are organizing a national observance Saturday to remember the tens of millions of babies aborted in the United States, with more than 200 individual events planned for this weekend.

Known as the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children, the Sept. 9 observance is organized by the Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and the Pro-Life Action League.

Pro-Life Action League Executive Director Eric J. Scheidler told The Christian Post that the annual event has been held every second Saturday in September since 2013.

The inaugural 2013 observance was held to mark the 25th anniversary of when members of CPLS held a memorial service and burial for 1,200 aborted babies discovered at two abortion clinics in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area on Sept. 10, 1988.

“The Day of Remembrance has grown year after year, aside from a disruption during the COVID era, from 103 locations in 2013 to a record 224 locations last year,” said Scheidler.

“The event has grown more elaborate and well-attended over the years, with local leaders bringing in student choirs, prominent local clergy, and a wide variety of guest speakers.”

Local events have included memorial services for the aborted, with many including music, guest speakers and actions like putting flowers on grave markers, according to Scheidler. 

As of Thursday, 207 services across the country have been scheduled, Scheidler told CP. Organizers also expect to have “a handful of vigils” pop up at the last minute. 

When asked by CP if he believed the Day of Remembrance would eventually become an official national observance, Scheidler replied that while he “can’t predict the future,” the observance itself “will continue even if aborted children are all protected by the law in our country, because we can never forget the lasting impact of legal abortion.”

“Even now, there are states that have all but eliminated abortion, but these memorials continue in those states because the work of healing the wounds of abortion will take generations,” said Scheidler.

“The National Day of Remembrance is playing an important role in this healing process.”

The National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children is one of multiple events and observances aimed at remembering the victims of legalized abortion over the past several years.

In January 2014, for example, St. Francis Catholic Church of Sherwood, Oregon, and a local Knights of Columbus chapter created a pro-life display with more than 500 white crosses.

Additionally, in April 2019, a gathering was held in Richmond, Virginia, that featured conservative social media figure Elizabeth Johnson, known as the “Activist Mommy.” The event focused on asking God for forgiveness for the prevalence of abortion in the United States.

In an interview with CP, Johnson said she believed too many churches “have taken a seat on the sidelines” and are “not engaged in this important life and death issue.”

“There are so many ways that God’s people can make a difference on the abortion issue. We could be active politically, we could be at the abortion clinics, praying and offering help to these women who feel very alone oftentimes,” said Johnson at the time.

“We could be adopting and fostering. If every church would adopt or foster one child, the orphan crisis in our nation would be over. I think a whole church can handle providing support for a family to adopt or foster a child.”

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