Respect Life
Respect Life Committee Activities
- We pray, educate, and advocate for pro-life laws and for religious freedom
- We educate our parish and community about life issues and be actively pro-life
- We pray especially at Planned Parenthood for the unborn and the vulnerable and helpless to be saved
- We support our students going to the March for Life and many attend the march!
- We help install crosses for the Cemetery of the Innocents, symbolizing the number lost every day to abortion in the United States
- We help moms at risk of abortion through our supported crisis Pregnancy Centers and Cincinnati Right to Life
- We promote pro-life values and support right to life educational outreach with our fun family day at the Heartbeats for Life Race.
- We support the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the Diocese of Covington, with Cross The Bridge For Life, a family-friendly and fun promotion of the Pregnancy Help Network on both sides of the river.
Here are the details!
January - March for Life in Washington, D. C. (Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, Jan. 22, 1973, decision by SCOTUS legalizing abortion during all 9 months of pregnancy). Prayer Service; Respect Life hospitality for Youth Group Bus pilgrimage to Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the March. Students may travel with Archdiocese buses. MARCH FOR LIFE STUDENT BUS TRIP AND PRAYER SEND OFF to WASHINGTON, D.C
February - SAVE THE DATE – Please join us at the kickoff to the prayer campaign. The date for 2026 will be provided when it's available. We plan to begin the hour at Holy Name Church, 2422 Auburn Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219, and process to Planned Parenthood (2 blocks away) for prayer.
Spring 40 Days for Life (from Ash Wednesday through Palm Sunday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) You can protect mothers and children by joining this worldwide mobilization! Through prayer and fasting, peaceful vigils and community outreach, 40 Days for Life has inspired 1,000,000 volunteers to help end the injustice of abortion in their local communities. With God’s help, through 26 campaigns; in over 950 cities around the world; 20,689 babies have been saved; 229 abortion workers have converted and 114 abortion centers have closed. “We Will Help You” signs are in the Fatima Room under the counter and should be passed along to the vigil-keepers from IHM in the hour after yours and returned to church after the last vigil hour. You can sign up to pray at any time through this link: https://www.40daysforlife.com/Cincinnati
May Mothers’ Day Baby Bottles Bottles filled with coins (distributed weeks prior) and baby items are collected for one of our crisis pregnancy centers. We help gather and securely store the coin bottles, while baby items are placed in the wooden carts. The collection will take place on Mothers Day weekend 2025. Contact: Jane Elfers
June Cross the Bridge for Life Held at Newport Festival Grounds along the river on June 7. This is a peaceful, family-friendly, pro-life stroll across the Purple People Bridge, led by Hibernian bagpipers, Knights of Columbus, clergy, seminarians and pro-life leaders and friends. There will be face-painting, food trucks, and Easter Rising playing throughout the event. https://cincinnatirighttolife.org/2022-cross-bridge-life
August - Calling all parishioners! The Heartbeats for Life 5K Run/Walk is again taking place on Saturday, August 23, 2025, at 10 A.M. at Lunken Playfield, 262 Wilmer Avenue, and will include a Family Fun Run. This benefits one of our main supported Pro-Life information and advocacy organizations, Cincinnati Right to Life. In person sign up is the day of the race at 8:30 a.m. CRTL will have food trucks on site. Sponsored by Life Runners & Cincinnati Right to Life. Contact Jane Elfers
Fall 40 Days for Life
Lamb Layette Baskets
Help us "Shower" Expectant Moms and their Baby with Love by contributing to: Baby Shower in a Bag
Baby Shower Bags are for women experiencing a Crisis Pregnancy
This Service Project will help pregnant women visiting - A Caring Place, located on Mt. Carmel-Tabasco Road.
Lamb Layette Baby Shower Bag -contains: onesies and sleepers in several sizes, baby bibs, receiving blankets, baby socks, and towel and washcloth. These bags are a "mini baby shower" for the pregnant woman as she gathers items to welcome her baby. The bags will be distributed by A Caring Place
Donations of onesies, sleepers, baby blankets, bibs and baby socks are needed. A sign up sheet for donations will be available during the collection.
For more information - contact Marge English ([email protected])
Cemetery of the Innocents - In 2009, there were 4,200 surgical abortions per day in the U.S., but that number has been declining. The most recent statistic is that there are now 2,300 abortions in the U.S., though, in addition to that, there are thousands of chemical abortions in the U. S. daily. Contact: Paul Dadosky
IHM Day School Students help with Lamb Layettes, Baby Prayer Blankets (2022) and Cemetery of the Innocents cross removal. They write blessing notes to the first-time moms in a crisis pregnancy. They pray over the Lamb Layettes. Alternate years they assemble prayer blankets for the layettes.
Fall 40 Days for Life Prayer and Fasting Vigil
We have saved over 18,800 babies we know of by these vigils. Abortion workers report 75% cancellations of appointments when people are out in front praying. Sign-ups are available in the back of church for you to sign up for a committed hour of silent or quiet rosary prayer for moms and babies at risk of abortion.
We invite IHM parishioners to offer one hour of public prayer at the clinic on that day.
We also ask you to select a DAY TWO of your own choosing and sign up with that date and time in the back of church.
October Designated Respect Life Month by the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Contact Paul Dadosky
Life's Fifth Quarter Holy Name Church Pro-Life Mass
Every month that has a fifth Saturday, please join our archdiocese youth for this pro-life liturgy!
Please sign up for our activities by emailing Paul Dadosky
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Archdiocese of Cincinnati Respect Life Website
Are you a pregnant woman in need of a safe and supportive place to stay? Are you going through a crisis pregnancy and looking for a nurturing home environment? Mater Filius Queen City is a Catholic apostolate created to help pregnant women in Cincinnati and surrounding areas who find themselves without support. Inside the home of Mater Filius, women find the basic needs of life: shelter, food, clothes, safety, support, hope, and peace. Our home assists women and their babies during pregnancy, childbirth, and the subsequent months after childbirth. We can help guide you towards a positive path in your life journey. We provide more than shelter and food. We provide the ability to rise above devastating, negative elements and achieve job-readiness and self-sustainability.
*walkingwithmoms.com This is the Church's nationwide, parish-based effort to prayerfully support pregnant and parenting mothers in need. (This web site was created for parishes that do not have a Respect Life committee, Bob Wurzlebacher noted, but is worth including for any other Respect Life leaders looking for help in setting up their committee.)
*hopeafterabortion.org esperanzaposaborto.org This is for anyone seeking information, help, and healing after participation in an abortion. Dioceses with a confidential, designated helpline ar listed on the Find Help map.
*respectlife.org Find ready -to-use resources, prayers, graphics, and information on various Respect Life topics. Check out our parish action guides, leader toolkits, monthly prayer guides, and more!
PREGNANCY CARE CENTERS/MATERNITY HOME
Healthy Moms and Babes http://www.healthymomsandbabes.org/
A Caring Place https://www.acaringplace.org/
Pregnancy Center Plus https://pcplus.org
MATER FILIUS https://www.mfqc.org
Catholic Telegraph article https://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/mater-filius-new-respect-life-ministry-goes-the-extra-mile-to-help-expectant-moms-in-crisis-pregnancies-with-housing-job-training-education-workshops-and-emotional-support/68144
ST. Su Casa Outreach
Resources for Post-Abortion Healing
Her Choice to Heal Online Abortion Recovery Program
