The National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children is Saturday, September 14, and is a day to honor the memory of the many lives that were ended by abortion. Co-sponsored by Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, Priests for Life and the Pro-Life Action League, the day will include solemn prayer vigils at the 52 grave sites of aborted children in the United States and dozens of other sites dedicated to the memory of aborted children.

Recently Eric Scheidler, Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League, stopped by Morning Air® to discuss the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children, and why it is such a meaningful day for so many.

“The National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children is an attempt to begin to properly mourn for these children as a society,” Scheidler said.

He explained that there are currently 52 grave sites that contain the remains of aborted babies, and that several stories of how these grave sites came to be found can be read at AbortionMemorials.com

“Every year we’ve seen more and more locations get added on, and one of the beautiful things about this annual event is that almost every year we find out about another place where some of these poor, unfortunate abortion victims have been buried,” Scheidler said. “Because so much about abortion is shrouded in silence. There’s so much that we don’t know about what goes on inside abortion facilities, and especially what goes on inside the hearts of men and women who are involved with abortion.”

“We now have 52 different burial places, and at the same time hundreds and hundreds of memorial sites in churches, in cemeteries, and even in public parks all over the United States that are dedicated to the memory of the loss of all these children. Over 60 million of them now have been aborted legally in our country, have been torn from our society.”

While there is also a Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn in January, the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children differs in the sense that it focuses  particularly on the lives that have already been lost through abortion. It is an opportunity to publicly mourn and to pray for both the aborted children and those who have lost a child to abortion.

“It’s one of the corporal works of mercy to bury the dead. It’s a value that even transcends the Judeo-Christian worldview,” Scheidler pointed out. “So it’s a powerful instinct to address the dead in this way, because it acknowledges their humanity.”

Day of Remembrance services will take place at 184 locations across the country, and Scheidler shared how these events have been particularly meaningful for women who have had abortions. Those who regret their abortion often mourn in silence, but the Day of Remembrance is an opportunity to publicly mourn with others the lives of these children.

“We have found over the years that this event has been a source of tremendous healing,” he said. “Jesus told us, ‘Blessed are they who mourn.’ And that’s exactly what we do when we go to these burial places. And it’s an incredibly powerful experience to stand on hallowed ground where these children are buried and to think about what their death means.”

“This kind of event where we publicly mourn for the loss of these children is an invitation to healing. And so many are saying yes to that and then finding from that experience their own path toward healing and toward helping others.”

To participate in the National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children, find a location near you. If there is not a Remembrance Day location nearby, you can offer up this Prayer of Mourning for Victims of Abortion and the Prayer for Those Who Have Lost a Child to Abortion.

Listen to the full conversation with Eric Scheidler below:

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