ARTICLES

Remembering the Victims

Pro-Lifers Head to Sewage Plant

By Cameron O'Shea

On January 22nd, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, many groups and parishes in Northern California held rememberences for the tens of millions of abortion victims. In the Diocese of Santa Rosa, Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, the newly installed successor to Bishop Pierre DuMaine, celebrated a Knights of Columbus-sponsored pro-life Mass at Mission Santa Clara. Approximately 200 knights and friends were on hand to hear Bishop McGrath speak on the sanctity of life and about the efforts of the United Nations and other organizations to control world population through contraceptives and abortion. On the same day in Los Altos, another two hundred men, women, and children took part in an annual Prayer Walk for Life. It began with a Mass at St. Nicholas Church. In his message during the Mass, Father Gary Thomas said that the lack of consensus in this country about what is right and wrong has resulted in millions of innocent human lives being lost to the culture of death. Following Mass, the congregation walked eight blocks from the Church to the Los Altos City Hall where they heard a short address by Tammy Birdseye of the South Valley Pregnancy Center of Morgan Hill. In Danville, a family candlelight rosary took place at St. Isidore's Church.

In other pro-life activities on the 22nd, protesters organized by the Pro-Life Rosary Project under the direction of Monsignor Kavanagh of St. Rose Church in Sacramento picketed a Planned Parenthood abortion mill on 21st street.

On the eve before the anniversary, St. Rose held a pro-life prayer vigil from 7:30 p.m. to midnight, which included Mass, recitation of a 15-decade rosary, the Divine Mercy chaplet, and prayers of reparation. Monsignor Kavanagh later held solemn religious ceremonies at the Sacramento sewage treatment plant on Franklin Boulevard -- the final destination of many aborted children. Some abortion facilities use garbage disposal units to shred their victims before sending them into the sewers. Several years ago, a baby's body clogged the sewer outside the pregnancy consultation center in Sacramento. Pro-life Rosary Project members wanted to draw special attention to the sewage treatment plant's use as a cemetery because it is predicted that the use of sewers to dispose of babies will increase due to "morning after" early abortion treatments. In the future, more babies will be delivered in peoples' homes by way of pharmaceutical abortions.

Participants hope that these events will be the first step towards an official designation by the entire universal Church of an annual world wide day of mourning for victims of abortion on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Other groups took their protests to the abortion providers. One of these picketed the office of abortionist Victor Chan on F Street in Sacramento. A Southern California based group called Survivors assisted these protesters.

During the picket, two men came out of a neighboring house to confront the group. One of the men produced a can of black spray paint and proceeded to spray paint on the protesters' signs.

In a separate protest, a group went to the home of abortionist Oscar Tan on Crow Canyon Drive in Folsom. While the group paced with signs outside Tan's home, a man who lives on the same street came out and identified himself as a pro-life Catholic. He said about Tan, "This man lives in my parish and goes to my church [St. John the Baptist in Folsom]."

Another resident who lives across the street from Tan came out to speak to a photographer who was covering the event, and within earshot of the protesters. He asked the photographer what the activity was all about, and when told that an abortionist lived across the street and the protest was taking place to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the neighbor said, "Really? Can I masturbate for you?" The man then commented on the signs that had pictures of aborted children, "Those look like my baby pictures."

In 1990, Tan was under investigation by the State medical board where he was accused of gross negligence and other charges. Tan's physician and surgeon's certificate was revoked by the State of California in 1994 and he was placed on a conditional 3 years' probation. His license was restored in 1998.

Another group turned out to protest a commemorative luncheon sponsored by Planned Parenthood on January 26th in Sacramento. These protesters were inspired by a large Planned Parenthood ad that appeared in the Sacramento Bee on January 22nd announcing the event.

In the ad, Planned Parenthood listed their political supporters. Among these were Catholics Governor Gray Davis, San Jose Assemblyman Jim Cunneen, and Sacramento State Senator Debra Ortiz. Also on the list was Oakland State-Senator Don Perata.

The event took place days after the Roe v. Wade anniversary to accommodate the schedule of key-note speaker Emily Lyons, who was injured by a bombing at the abortion mill where she worked in Birmingham, Alabama in January of 1998. Lyons is now on the lecture circuit and is the recipient of Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger Woman of Valor award. During the event, occupants of a passing car spit on one protester, Brother Nicholas from St. Rose Church.

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