Nations to Celebrate International Day of the Unborn Child

International   |   Bill Poehler   |   Mar 24, 2012   |   3:15PM   |   Washington, DC

The International Day of the Unborn Child is to be celebrated by all citizens on Sunday, March 25, 2012.  It is a day to recall the remarkable journey of life each member of the human family has taken in our commonality as human beings and our uniqueness as individuals.

Initiated by Pope John Paul II to coincide with and to honor the Feast of the Annunciation, the March 25 event has grown into a day of celebration and remembrance for all unborn human beings.  It is a time to celebrate human dignity and the amazing world of the developing child yet to be born.  It is also a day to remember the millions of unborn children whose lives have been ended by the violence of abortion.

In 1993, El Salvador became the first country to officially celebrate a “Day of the Right to Be Born.” Subsequently other countries have begun official celebrations for the unborn, including Argentina with “Day of the Unborn” in 1998, Chile with “Day of the Conceived and Unborn” in 1999, and also in 1999, Guatemala’s “National Day of the Unborn.”  Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic and Paraguay are all nations that now celebrate a day for the unborn child.

While many nations celebrate the unalienable worth and value of every unborn child, we must raise our voice against the current U.S. administration’s unrelenting war on the innocent unborn child.  Since President Obama’s election in 2008, the U.S. administration’s policy of advocating the destruction of unborn children has come in all forms, from taxpayer funding of abortion and embryo-killing research, to funding efforts abroad to rid other countries of their pro-life constitutions.  Never before in the history of the world has an unborn child faced such a great struggle just to be born.

It is important in 2012 to recall how much we have learned about the intricate world of the unborn child and humanity itself.  Current developments include intrauterine surgery, ultrasound, neo-natal intensive care, fetal heart monitoring and much more.  We also know now that the unborn child has sleep and wake cycles, feels emotions, can cry in the womb and also has the ability to feel pain.