March 26, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A coalition of over 25 national pro-life groups has embarked on a unique project to highlight the humanity of the unborn.
At a time when several states are pushing absolutely unlimited abortion, and getting rid of the most reasonable regulations of the procedure, the project urges people all over the U.S. and the world to observe March 25 as the Day of the Unborn Child and then to follow the development of the unborn child for nine months until Christmas Day.
As a guide, the project points people to an app that shows the developmental facts and stunning imagery of the child for each week of pregnancy. The app is called “See Baby Pregnancy Guide” (available for IOS and Android). Video footage of the unborn child employed on this app is far more powerful than anything ultrasound can accomplish, because it was created through embryoscopy and fetoscopy, whereby a camera is placed right up against the amniotic sac to view the baby moving around in living color. Because of the transparency of the skin in these early weeks of development, the heart, its chambers, and its beating motion can be clearly seen.
The project has dubbed the child whose development will be traced “Baby Chris.” Resources will be made available at www.BabyChris.org, where, week by week, schools, Churches, pro-life groups, families and individuals can receive educational materials, photos and videos, and social media memes in order to spread awareness of how well developed the unborn child is, even as an “embryo”.
This project is based on the conviction that in the debate over abortion, the starting point is simple: who is this child?
Once that is established, the next key question is, “What does abortion do to the child.”
The project’s initiation on March 25th, of course, points to the Christian celebration of the Annunciation, when God himself became an unborn child within the body of the Virgin Mary. Many believers for a long time have called upon the Church to give more emphasis to the pro-life message while celebrating this Feast.
March 25 was first recognized as a special day for the unborn child in 1993 when an official decree was proclaimed by the Legislative Assembly in El Salvador designating this day as the “Day of the Right to Be Born”. Argentina officially recognized the “Day of the Unborn” in 1999 by action of then President Carlos Menem.
In 2003, the first Provida International Congress in Madrid with representation from over 20 countries in Europe and the Americas institutionalized March 25th as International Day of Life. Since then, the day has grown in popularity, in some places recognized as the Day of the Conceived Child. The day has grown in popularity with celebrations taking place around the world.
The collaboration of pro-life organizations on the “Baby Chris” project is one of the fruits of a three-day summit meeting of national pro-life leaders that took place at the headquarters of Priests for Life from February 7 – 10, 2019. The meeting was an opportunity for pro-life leaders to carefully assess strategic opportunities for the movement to end abortion, and to share in depth with one another their perspectives on the next steps that movement needs to take. Key presentations were given on legal strategies, messaging, elections, and Church outreach, among other things. Each presentation was followed by important give-and-take to expand the leaders’ thinking on each point, with an exploration of opportunities for joint action.
While national pro-life leaders do gather together regularly throughout the year for updating and networking, strategy summit meetings like this give the leaders a chance for more intensive interaction with one another on a strategic level, and more opportunity to plan projects together.
Several other projects were agreed upon at the meeting, such as joint support for “The Moral Outcry” Petition (see www.TheMoralOutcry.com), renewed efforts to engage pastors and churches in the fight to end abortion, and election strategies for exposing the late-term abortion and infanticide extremism of the Democrat Party.
Additional pro-life summit meetings are planned for the coming months, along with special working groups that specialize on different aspects of the work needed to end abortion.
Participating organizations in the BabyChris project include: Anglicans for Life, Brimstone Services, Care Net, Center for Bioethical Reform, Charismatic Episcopal Church for Life, Children First Foundation, Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, Created Equal, Expectant Mother Care-EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Cent, Human Life Alliance, Human Life International, Issues4Life Foundation, Arizona Right to Life, The Justice Foundation, Life Chain Florida, Life Issues Institute, The Moral Outcry, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), National Pro-life Religious Council, One More Soul, Operation Outcry, Presbyterians Protecting Life, Priests for Life, Pro-Life Action Ministries, Red Rose Rescue, Secular Pro-Life, Students for Life of America, Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, Susan B. Anthony List, Unborn.com
For more information about Fr. Frank Pavone and Priests for Life, visit www.ProLifeCentral.com.