Health care bill on minds of many people at pro-life banquet

Mariana Ruiz, right, speaks as a translator for her uncle and Gabriel Project volunteer, Luis Aguayo, second from left during a March 23 Gabriel Project fundraising banquet in Indianapolis. Aguayo is holding Emil Lopez, the son of Maria Lopez, left. Emil was saved from abortion through the assistance of Aguayo and other Gabriel Project volunteers. (Photo by Sean Gallagher)

By Sean Gallagher

The Great Lakes Gabriel Project’s “Partners for Life” fundraising banquet on March 23 at the Northside Knights of Columbus Hall in Indianapolis was a joyous event in which saved lives were celebrated and dedicated volunteers were honored.

That joy overflowed from the more than 300 attendees who came from across the archdiocese and the state, even though earlier in the day President Barack Obama signed into law a health care reform bill that the U.S. bishops believe may provide federal funding for abortions.

Many of those on hand were Gabriel Project volunteers, known as angels, from the 28 parishes in the archdiocese which offer the ministry. Through the Gabriel Project, they give material, emotional and spiritual assistance to women in crisis pregnancies.

David Bereit, co-founder of 40 Days for Life, was the keynote speaker at the banquet.

He mentioned that, as he was waiting in a Detroit airport earlier in the day for a connecting flight to Indianapolis, he saw on a television the start of the White House ceremony in which the health care bill, which Bereit described as “the largest expansion of abortions since the Roe v. Wade decision,” was signed.

“As I was watching all of the hype and all of the build-up, I realized what was about to happen before my eyes,” Bereit said. “I realized that a death sentence was about to be signed.

“Because, regrettably, even though we in America have many, many problems with our health care system, the abortion industry has hijacked this process and utilized the debate in our country over the last year to impose an abortion mandate.”

Bereit has observed the effect of abortion across the country during the six years since 40 Days for Life was founded in College Station, Texas.

Since that first 40-day-long prayer campaign in front of an abortion facility in 2004, 845 pro-life campaigns have taken place in 307 cities in all 50 states and seven other countries.

More than 315,000 people have participated in the campaigns that were assisted by more than 10,000 religious congregations. And as of March 23, Bereit said that more than 2,500 lives of unborn babies have been saved while campaigns were held.

Bereit said the debate on the floor of the House of Representatives on the evening of March 21 leading up to the historic health care vote reminded him of a visit that his family made to the chamber about a year ago.

At the time, his 10-year-old daughter, Claire, saw the words “In God we trust” inscribed on the wall behind where the Speaker of the House sits and asked, “Daddy, when in America did it become ‘In politics we trust?’ ”

“I thought, how wise for a 10-year-old child to see and understand how far we have fallen, how far we have come from that founding principle of our nation, given to us by God almighty,” Bereit said. “For me, it was really a profound breakthrough. All of a sudden, those four words chiseled into that wall and the realization of what Claire had said in stark contrast [to it], I realized how, for too long, we in the pro-life movement have many times put our trust in the wrong places.”

For too long, Bereit said, pro-life supporters have put too much focus on getting the right people in the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court.

While not wholly dismissing the relevance of working to nurture a culture of life through political and judicial spheres, Bereit reminded his listeners that abortions ultimately happen—and are prevented—near the homes and workplaces of pro-life supporters.

“Abortions happen [near] where we live, where we work, and in the communities where we worship,” he said. “And if we want to intercede and save lives where they are at the greatest risk, it has to be done in our communities, at the local level.”

To work effectively at the local level, Bereit invited the banquet attendees to put their trust more consciously and completely in God.

“Right now, as a nation, as a people, we need to turn back to God as we have never turned to him before in our lifetimes because our nation is in desperate need,” he said. “When we’re in times of crisis, fortunately, God in his word has given us a prescription to remedy that crisis.

“… I didn’t come across the country to bring a message of despair tonight. I came, instead, to bring a message of hope.”

Eileen Hartman, executive director of an arm of the Great Lakes Gabriel Project that extends to all five dioceses in Indiana and others in Michigan and Ohio, was filled with hope after meeting in person many of the project’s volunteers that she had only had contact with by e-mail in the past.

“To have them actually come out and meet each other and [for] me [to] be able to meet them in person just took it to another level,” said Hartman, a member of St. Bartholomew Parish in Columbus.

“I think that extra level is going to do something for our project because I think we’re at a point where we’re ready to become a pregnancy resource center or do something a little bit more than we’ve been doing. And it’s going to take the support of the community. And I think tonight showed that we’ve got that support.”

Hartman was a bit dismayed by the fact that the health care reform bill was signed on the same day as the Gabriel Project’s banquet. But it didn’t dampen her spirits or shake her faith.

“It’s awful to have to remember this date, which was wonderful for us, with that association,” Hartman said. “But I think David put it very well. These are the times when we need to dig in even deeper and stronger. We still need to be firm in our faith.

“We’re not working for victory. We’re working from victory. That makes all the difference.”

(For more information about the Gabriel Project in the archdiocese, log on to www.goangels.org. For more information about 40 Days for Life, log on to www.40daysforlife.com.) †