October 8, 2024 // Diocese

Right to Life of Northeast Indiana Holds Annual Memorial for the Unborn

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

Last week, a hearse arrived at the Catholic Cemetery in Fort Wayne, carrying within it a casket no larger than a shoebox. The tiny coffin represented the thousands of babies aborted in Indiana.

On Sunday, October 6, Right to Life of Northeast Indiana hosted a ‘Memorial for the Unborn’ with a large crowd attending. People of all ages were in attendance to show support for the unborn, some bringing their entire families. The ceremony included a time for each attendee to lay a rose next to the tiny coffin.

Multiple Christian denominations were represented, with Father Royce Gregerson of Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church leading the opening prayer and Pastor Bill Mueller of Suburban Bethlehem Church, speaking to  the crowd. Tears fell as prayers were said for the babies.

Abigail Lorenzen, Education Coordinator of Right to Life of Northeast Indiana, told Today’s Catholic about her joy from the turnout. “We have about 100 people here today, and it’s just a beautiful group of people. They recognize something that the rest of our society ignores: Babies who are aborted are often not recognized at all,” Lorenzen said.

Right to Life of Northeast Indiana aims to give proper recognition to these babies. One way they do this is by giving names to the aborted children. “That’s a part of what we do too. We have volunteers who sit down, and they name these babies who were aborted in northeast Indiana,” Lorenzen shared. The organization does so to highlight the humanity of the babies which was so tragically ignored.

She then shared the statistics on abortion in Indiana from 2023. “In the state of Indiana, there were 4,673 abortions. You begin to say ‘You know what? These were little lives, and they need to be recognized.’”

Lorenzen praised God for His unending love toward His children, including everyone affected by abortion. “It is so cool and neat to know that God cares for each one of those [babies] so dearly and not just for them but for their mothers and fathers too,” Lorenzen said.

Right to Life of Northeast Indiana aims to fulfill the needs of mothers. Joseph Renner, treasurer of the organization, told Today’s Catholic that women need to know they have better options. He said the goal of the event is “raising greater awareness to the lives being lost and the damage it’s causing to mothers.”

At the heart of the memorial was testimony given by Mercy Kingsdaughter, a victim of domestic abuse and sex trafficking. The mother of two aborted children, she shared her pain and newfound healing. Her message was clear that even in the most tragic circumstances, God can bring beauty in healing.

Kingsdaughter was pregnant twice, both taking place in her teenage years as a result of sex trafficking. At 16, she had her first abortion when her family insisted on the procedure. Shortly after, she had another abortion. It was not until later in life, she shared, that she found healing through God’s love and the support of her community. She said she joined a recovery program where she finally felt God’s unconditional love. She now shares her story at different events, saying that a fruit of her healing is using her voice to raise awareness about abortion.

For more information on Right to Life of Northeast Indiana, visit ichooselife.org. For those hurting from a past abortion and searching for help, visit diocesefwsb.org/project-rachel.