LIFESITENEWS.COM REPORT: Chicago’s Resurrection Hospital is making national news with its new commitment to reversing mid-term abortions for women who have changed their minds and wish to have their babies.
The program, which was formally dedicated on January 26, is called the Bethlehem Project, and is being conducted in cooperation with Chicago’s Pro-Life Action League and the Chicago Women’s Center. It assists women to reverse a second-trimester abortion known as Dilation and Evacuation (D&E), a procedure that takes two days to complete.
Women undergoing a D&E abortion must pass through a 24-hour period in which their cervix is dilated using laminaria made from seaweed or another substance, which slowly expands. After the cervix has been opened sufficiently, the abortionist applies a vacuum hose and forceps to tear the unborn child to pieces, which are removed one by one until the entire body is extracted.
Through the Bethlehem Project, Resurrection Hospital is committed to removing the laminaria from the cervix of women who do not wish to complete their abortions, and to give them whatever medical attention is necessary to protect their health and that of their unborn children, something abortion providers are hesitant or unwilling to do.
The story of the hospital’s commitment to the unborn is now being reported by news organizations across the United States, including Time Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, and Fox News.
Sister Donna Marie Wolowicki, CEO of Resurrection Hospital, told the Chicago Tribune that stopping abortions is “part of who we are,” and added that “Catholic health care is to reach out to people and help them in their need. Of course, it’s vital to be true to the ethics we believe in. Holding life sacred is a big piece of what we believe.”
“We hope that in other parts of the country where abortion clinics are doing late term abortions, sidewalk counselors can forge similar relationships with Catholic or Christian hospitals to meet the needs of women who want to reverse the abortion procedure and choose life for their babies,” said Ann Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League. “We’re happy to help make that happen.”
Three unborn children have reportedly been saved by the program since it began in October. The Tribune quotes one beneficiary of the program who was stopped by a “pushy” priest who encouraged her to halt her second-trimester abortion.
“Thank God this man stopped us,” the woman said in an anonymous interview. “He saved the life of my baby and maybe he saved my life too.”BY MATTHEW CULLINAN HOFFMAN\
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