The Alexandria City Council scrapped plans to designate March 10 as Abortion Provider Appreciation Day, following protests from Catholics in the Arlington diocese. As part of its March 8 meeting, the council had planned to consider proclaiming the day as one to “celebrate the courage, compassion, and the high-quality care that abortion providers and clinic staff provide.”
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge released a statement March 4 calling on Alexandria residents “to express their opposition to this proclamation.”
“Proposing a celebration of abortion and an ‘appreciation day’ for those who destroy lives defies comprehension,” he wrote. “The City of Alexandria should instead do the opposite. It should celebrate all those who save, protect and care for human life. It should re-direct its focus toward recognizing and supporting both mothers and their children, as so many dedicated and compassionate people in Alexandria do each day.”
Jeff Caruso of the Virginia Catholic Conference sent an alert March 3 asking Catholic pro-lifers to voice their opposition with a direct link to contact the city council. The proposal was pulled late March 4.
“Thank you to every Alexandria resident who took action against this offensive proposed proclamation,” he said. “Your voices are the reason it was removed from the City Council’s March 8 meeting agenda. Within the past week alone, members of the Virginia Catholic Conference email advocacy network engaged in actions at every level of government — federal, state and local.”
Diocesan parishes also mobilized their members.
“The vigilant and mighty grassroots of the Arlington diocese made this extreme abortion advocacy at the city council level go away last Friday by contacting their elected representatives on the city council,” said Amy McInerny, diocesan respect life director.
“Abortion is not health care and no amount of political posturing can make it so,” she said. “Catholics need to be looking sharp at their city and county council agenda right now.”
was started in 1996 by the Abortion Care Network. Abortion proponents have published an online toolkit to help communities declare an appreciation day locally. For this reason, local pro-lifers anticipate this effort to resurface.
In his statement, Bishop Burbidge called on “all in our diocese to proclaim the Gospel of Life by word and example.”
Augherton can be reached at [email protected] or on twitter @AughertonACH.
