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Fetal ash burials of murdered babies may
spark protests
Sat Jan 22, 2005 03:53
64.140.158.42
Fetal ash burials may spark protests
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/religion/article/0,1299,DRMN_61_3486556,00.html
By Jean Torkelson mailto:torkelsonj@RockyMountainNews.com
January 21, 2005
A Boulder church got more than expected when it decided to publicize a quiet, longtime ritual of burying the ashes of fetuses from a local abortion clinic.
Susan LaVelle, of Sacred Heart of Mary Church, 6739 S. Boulder Road, said Thursday she's been warned that protesters may turn up Sunday when parishioners gather after the 9 a.m. Mass to bury the ashes of between 600 and 1,000 aborted fetuses.
LaVelle said that since the mid- 1990s, about 3,000 aborted remains from the Boulder Abortion Clinic www.drhern.com/ have been cremated and then buried in the church's adjoining cemetery.
Throughout the years, two different mortuaries agreed to pick up remains at the clinic, run by Dr. Warren Hern, and give the ashes to the church. Hern was never told of the practice, LaVelle said.
Hern did not return calls for comment Thursday, but Kate Horle, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, expressed outrage.
"It feels like this is a violation of privacy," Horle said. "We certainly trust it's not happening to us."
Planned Parenthood performs abortions in three clinics in Colorado.
LaVelle said Crist Mortuary in Boulder has been delivering the ashes since 2001; the first to take part was Howe Mortuary.
Crist officials did not return phone calls. A story in the Boulder Weekly in 1999 detailed the story of Chuck Myers, identified as a former director at Howe, who was asked by Hern's clinic to dispose of aborted remains starting in 1997.
According to the story, Myers became disturbed when he opened the boxes of remains and contacted the pastor of Sacred Heart of Mary Church.
Myers, who is no longer with Howe, did not return phone calls.
Officials at Howe, which is under new management, know nothing about the practice, said mortuary manager Ryan Anderson.
LaVelle said the church had avoided publicity up to now - and given the outrage from abortion providers, she doubts the church will be able to receive such remains ever again.
"We were concerned about protests because this is a holy place for us," she said.
The church went public this year because the burial ritual coincided with Saturday's anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
LaVelle said parishioners and the pastor, the Rev. Dorino DeLazzer, also decided it was time that people who have had abortions learned about the existence of a cemetery where they could come to for healing.
"We appreciate being able to bury these babies and give them the dignity we think all people deserve," LaVelle said.
torkelsonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5055
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/religion/article/0,1299,DRMN_61_3486556,00.html
By Jean Torkelson mailto:torkelsonj@RockyMountainNews.com
January 21, 2005
A Boulder church got more than expected when it decided to publicize a quiet, longtime ritual of burying the ashes of fetuses from a local abortion clinic.
Susan LaVelle, of Sacred Heart of Mary Church, 6739 S. Boulder Road, said Thursday she's been warned that protesters may turn up Sunday when parishioners gather after the 9 a.m. Mass to bury the ashes of between 600 and 1,000 aborted fetuses.
LaVelle said that since the mid- 1990s, about 3,000 aborted remains from the Boulder Abortion Clinic www.drhern.com/ have been cremated and then buried in the church's adjoining cemetery.
Throughout the years, two different mortuaries agreed to pick up remains at the clinic, run by Dr. Warren Hern, and give the ashes to the church. Hern was never told of the practice, LaVelle said.
Hern did not return calls for comment Thursday, but Kate Horle, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, expressed outrage.
"It feels like this is a violation of privacy," Horle said. "We certainly trust it's not happening to us."
Planned Parenthood performs abortions in three clinics in Colorado.
LaVelle said Crist Mortuary in Boulder has been delivering the ashes since 2001; the first to take part was Howe Mortuary.
Crist officials did not return phone calls. A story in the Boulder Weekly in 1999 detailed the story of Chuck Myers, identified as a former director at Howe, who was asked by Hern's clinic to dispose of aborted remains starting in 1997.
According to the story, Myers became disturbed when he opened the boxes of remains and contacted the pastor of Sacred Heart of Mary Church.
Myers, who is no longer with Howe, did not return phone calls.
Officials at Howe, which is under new management, know nothing about the practice, said mortuary manager Ryan Anderson.
LaVelle said the church had avoided publicity up to now - and given the outrage from abortion providers, she doubts the church will be able to receive such remains ever again.
"We were concerned about protests because this is a holy place for us," she said.
The church went public this year because the burial ritual coincided with Saturday's anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
LaVelle said parishioners and the pastor, the Rev. Dorino DeLazzer, also decided it was time that people who have had abortions learned about the existence of a cemetery where they could come to for healing.
"We appreciate being able to bury these babies and give them the dignity we think all people deserve," LaVelle said.
torkelsonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5055
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