Respect for Life Ministry "Pro Life"

Fostering respect and protection for all phases of life from conception to natural death.

Mission Statement

Our purpose is to encourage parishioners to become more aware of pro-life issues and needs and to recruit volunteers to help meet those needs. Our goal is to change minds, hearts and laws so that true respect for all life can become a reality.

Areas of Concern:

Stem Cell research
Abortion
Developmentally Disabled
Physically Handicapped
Living Will
Euthanasia

Are You Aware?

One out of three babies conceived in the US is deliberately aborted
Abortion is the most frequently performed surgery on adults in America.
Abortions outnumber live births in fourteen major metropolitan areas.
There are nearly 1.6 million reported abortions in this country every year.
Twenty-eight million babies have died from abortion since the procedure was legalized across America in 1973.

Scientific Facts:

At eighteen days after conception the heart is forming and the eyes start to develop.
By twenty-one days the heart is beating and pumping blood throughout the body.
At forty days the preborn child's brain waves can be recorded.
By forty-twp days the skeleton is formed and the brain is controlling the movement of muscles and organs. The unborn reflexively responds to stimulus, and is already capable of feeling pain. This is before the earliest abortions take place.

What Can I Do?

Sometimes we are overwhelmed by the issue and feel helpless to do anything about it. Or perhaps we are just reluctant to get involved. But the Gospel message challenges us. Not only must we take action when faced with human need, but as the parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us, there are helpful things that each one of us can do. Here are some ways:

Become informed. Follow the public debate. Request information from local and national pro-life organizations.
Communicate your information and concern to others. Discuss the issue with family, friends and neighbors. Talk with your children and other young people who are victimized by pro-abortion propaganda in the media.
Become involved in community programs that foster respect for human life. Volunteer your time and money to worthy efforts.
Write your representatives to ask their support for pro-life legislation or to thank them for such support.
Join Saint James Respect for Life Ministry.
Pray that all human life will be respected and protected. Be mindful of the words of St. Paul: "In Him who is the source of my strength, I have strength for everything" (Phil. 4:13)

Responsibility is more than just duty. It's the ability to respond to need. To know that every person has a right to life that precedes and surpasses all other rights, a right upon which all other rights rest. To be willing to protect that right at the risk of inconvenience or loss. Responsibility challenges each of us. It preserves our past and guarantees our future. It is the essence of life.

Information and Resources

Pregnancy Help Centers

If you or someone you now are faced with an unplanned or crisis pregnancy please contact one of the following organizations for help and truthful information:

Pregnancy Aid Information Center
Raritan
(908) 526-8121

Life Choices Resource Center
Colonia
(732) 499-8676

Maternity & Adoption/Catholic Charities, Metuchen
Perth Amboy
(732) 826-9160

Friendship Pregnancy Center
Morristown
1-888-3CHOOSE

Birthright New Brunswick
New Brunswick
(732) 247-5445

Respect Life Office, Metuchen
Pro-Life Directors
Rev. Msgr. Richard A. Behl
Jennifer Ruggierio
East Brunswick
(732) 651-80084

When someone is pregnant and confused - upset and frightened - she needs help. These offices offer caring, confidential help to both Mother and Baby.

Post-Abortion Counseling & Support

If you or someone you know has made the choice for abortion and are now in pain, Project Rachel offers healing. Please contact:

Dioceses of Metuchen
Catholic Charities
Perth Amboy
1-877-877-4300

Abortions Aftermath
Philipsburg
(908) 454-8907

The following pro-life organizations need your support and involvement:

Center for Great Expectations
Maternity
Home
Somerville
(908) 218-0570

Priests for Life
Staten Island, NY
1-888-PFL-3448, 718-980-4400
http://www.priestsforlife.org

New Jersey Right to Life
Cranford
(908) 276-6620
http://www.njrtl.org

Legal Center for Defense of Life, Inc.
Lawyers Defending Life
Edward J. Gilhooly, Esq.
Richard F. Collier, Jr. Esq.
Morristown
(973) 984-0725

Knights of Columbus
St. Elizabeth Council at Saint James Church - Basking Ridge
The K of C sponsor the annual bus trip to the March for Life Washington, D.C.,
Roses for Life and the monthly collection of baby supplies for needy families.

Internet Resources

American Life League: http://www.all.org
Pro-Life Action League: http://www.prolifeaction.org/
Human Life International: http://www.hli.org/
Life Dynamics: http://www.ldi.org/
The Ultimate Pro-Life resource List: http://www.prolifeinfo.org/
Pregnancy Centers Online: http://www.pregnancycenters.org
Roe v. Wade: 28 Years of Life Denied: http://www.roevwade.org
The Couple to Couple League: http://www.ccli.org/

Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I give thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. (Psalm 139: 13-14)