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A few weeks back, I had a column about miscarriage, in which I shared my family’s personal experience with having lost one of our children this way. The column touched a few readers who expressed their gratitude via emails because of their own heart-wrenching experiences and stories about their own individual losses.
Just this past week, American Life League had the pleasure of participating in a national presentation by the newest American Life League Associate group, Elizabeth Ministries International. The presentation was titled “Honoring Miscarried Babies — The Missing Link in the Pro-Life Movement,” presented by cofounder and Executive Director Jeannie Hannemann.
Mrs. Hannemann shared that one in every four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, yet even as pro-lifers, we often overlook the equal importance of a baby lost through miscarriage as we tend to primarily focus on the babies who are being aborted. Jeannie’s point is that once we start to educate others about the importance of the lives of each of these miscarried babies, we can then honestly say we are absolutely 100 percent honoring all the lives of the unborn.
During the presentation, I also learned about how horribly hospitals and the medical community as a whole treat miscarried babies, dealing with them as nothing more than medical waste. In one instance, even a funeral home employee charged with cremating a collection of miscarried babies told the hospital that it should have “squeezed the juice out of them,” before bringing them to him.
Even worse is that the hospital did just that, making these babies into disfigured little beings sealed in a sterile and cold plastic medical waste bag. If that tale doesn’t move you to educate others about the true dignity of miscarried babies, I’m not sure you may have a heart at all.
I have seen many presentations throughout the years, but this was definitely one of the most powerful ones I have had the honor to participate in. While it was profound for me because of my own experience in losing a baby through miscarriage, I noticed many reactions and some tears from the audience, which was proof that many of us bear that cross, some more times than others.
During the question and answer session, one gentleman simply wanted to thank Mrs. Hannemann for addressing the topic because of his own experience. He stated that when he and his wife wanted to arrange a funeral for their baby, their then-pastor told them that “it’s just a miscarriage,” so a funeral wasn’t necessary. He added that, even up until now, he and his wife had never been as hurt as they were by that particular incident.
Jeannie also shared some of the wonderful materials and programs the organization offers, including a number of miscarriage delivery aids and burial vessels that couples could use to make the experience less painful and more dignified and beautiful, because after all, these little ones are our children, made in God’s image and likeness and as important as any one of us living here now.
Elizabeth Ministry began in 1991 at St. Bernard Parish in Appleton, Wis., where Jeannie was a pastoral and family life minister. Under the direction of Bishop Robert Morneau (then the ordinary of the Green Bay Diocese), Jeannie, and Fr. Kurt Gessner, the group created resources to help other parishes duplicate this much-needed outreach to young families.
Today, over 700 Elizabeth Ministry Chapters have been registered with our headquarters and exist on six continents. Although Elizabeth Ministry is Roman Catholic in origin and outlook, Elizabeth Ministry chapters have been formed in a variety of Christian churches that agree to uphold the organization’s mission.
In recent years, the Elizabeth Ministry International Headquarters has expanded the mission to include issues related not only to childbearing, but also to sexuality and relationships. Additional programs and resources have been created to provide for these areas. Some chapters have chosen to expand their outreach ministry to include these new aspects. Others choose to refer people to the Elizabeth Ministry International Headquarters for assistance.
Today, Elizabeth Ministry is reaching more families than ever before with the addition of its most recent program, RECLAiM Sexual Health, which addresses the timely and very important effects of a hyper-sexualized culture. RECLAiM not only educates on topics like pornography and masturbation and how they hurt our lives, but the program seeks to find solutions and help people heal individually and with their families. It explains how we can all help move society as a whole away from these destructive realities.
Elizabeth Ministry International has brought the final piece of the puzzle to the pro-life movement and for that, we should all be grateful. Visit www.ElizabethMinistry.com for more information and resources and to donate to support their very important work. Otherwise, the address for Elizabeth Ministry is 120 W. 8th Street, Kaukauna, WI 54130, and the phone number is 920-766-9380.
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