Church under attack after holding burial services for aborted foetuses

[emad]

Telegraph
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles
(Filed: 25/01/2005)

A Roman Catholic church in America sparked a national outcry after it announced it has been holding burial services for the cremated ashes of aborted foetuses without the knowledge of the mothers or the abortion clinic involved.

Critics claim the church is exploiting women's grief for political purposes.

The practice was revealed on Sunday when the church went public as it buried the ashes of around 500 foetuses, a day after the 32nd anniversary of Roe versus Wade, the US Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion.

Abortion is one of the most impassioned divisions in America, an extreme polarisation accentuated by the November presidential election.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=I10KLZOHZ1MG3QFIQMGCNAGAVCBQUJVC?xml=/news/2005/01/25/wfoet25.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/01/25/ixworld.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=42350

[w4rma]

1. That's gross. (nt)

[arwalden]

2. Two Words: Fetus Fetish.

Protect the zygote, ignore the child.

[Democrats_win]

3. It happend in Boulder, CO too.

http://denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E53%257E2670540,00.html?search=filter

The clinic, directed by Dr. Warren Hern, made a last-minute attempt to reclaim the ashes, which Crist Mortuary in Boulder had given to the parish without Hern's knowledge and, Hern says, in violation of a contract forbidding it.

The parish returned one box of ashes... A second box, which the parish claims held the ashes of 300 to 500 aborted fetuses, was buried....

[emad]

Some more on the Boulder, Co story from the Telegraph:

On Sunday, a congregation of 250 prayed at the Sacred Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Boulder, Colorado, as the ashes were buried in the cemetery near its Memorial Wall for the Unborn shortly after 9am Mass.

A handful of protesters gathered nearby holding signs that read "This church is a grave robber" and "Stop forcing your will on us."

Since 1998, the church has interred the remains of 5,500 foetuses, obtaining most from a mortuary hired by the Boulder Abortion Clinic to dispose of them. Dr Warren Hern, the clinic director, said he had "no idea" such an arrangement had been made and the clinic's contract with the mortuary specified the ashes would be buried on its own plot without any religious ceremony.

"I am just horrified," said Dr Hern, who said he had paid the mortuary $1,575 (£830) for its services.

[choicevoice]

4. The clinic should sue the mortuary and the church.

[agarrett1]

10. On what grounds?

According to the law (as I understand it), the clinic claims the foetuses are not human - if they were, after all, they would be murdering, not aborting. They are then disposing of unwanted tissue, and I would suppose the same laws apply there as do to other disposed items, or trash.

The Church disagrees. They consider a foetus to be human, and its death is something to be mourned. By performing a Christian burial, they are both expressing their mourning, and aiding the child's immortal soul (their belief, remember.)

I don't see what conceivable interest (pun slightly intended) the mother has in the issue. She chose to get rid of the foetus, implicitly rejecting it as human. Why would she later try to assert such a claim?

Drew Garrett

[davidinalameda]

5. how could the crematorium release the ashes without proper consent

isn't that illegal?

[Sin]

7. They will just say

They received them by immaculate delivery.
Reminds me of when the Mormons i think were buying names of dead people from other country's because in there belief they just need there full name to baptize them or some such.
+ why the hell are they doing it in the first place don't RC's believe that if the baby isn't baptized that it goes to a special purgatory for all eternity To you know suffer for there original sin.
So yea I'm voting illegal activity and stunt on this one.

[eternalburn]

6. Don't you have to be christened to be buried on "holy ground'? (nt)

[Solly Mack]

9. You think they didn't sprinkle the ashes with water?

probably even gave the ashes a name.

"here lies Ashley"
"here lies Ashton"

[lawladyprof]

8. Do they do this for fetal remains due to miscarriage? eom

N/T

[agarrett1]

11. Yes

The mother has to ask for such a service, they don't do it automatically (I'm unclear on whether the father could request such a service.) But, if requested, the Catholic Church will perform a service for a miscarriage.

Drew Garrett

[Moderator]

12. duplicate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1177543