{{.A BILL FOR An Act prohibiting and requiring certain actions relating to abortion involving the detection of a fetal heartbeat, and including effective date provisions.}}
(From the Iowa Gazette 7/11/23)
Iowa lawmakers meet today in a special session to consider a bill (HSB 255) that would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat — defined as “cardiac activity, the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac” — is detected. It includes exceptions for pregnancies that are the result of rape in cases that are reported within 45 days, and incest in cases that are reported within 140 days.
It also includes exceptions for miscarriages, a fetal abnormality that would result in the infant’s death, and for when the mother’s life is threatened.
Maggie DeWitte, executive director of the anti-abortion group Pulse Life Advocates, said she’s thankful Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republicans responded to calls to act quickly on new abortion restrictions “to save more and more unborn children’s lives and protect women from the harm of abortion.”
Opponents, including physicians, argue politicians should not be making medical decisions for patients, and that the law ignores well-established medical standards.
Lawmakers, advocates will converge on Iowa Capitol for abortion policy debate | The Gazette
Prayers below for these babies and their mothers that can be prayed WHENEVER the thought of abortion hits your heart!
(( I found these gems on Abortion – Pro Life – Pro-Life Prayers (priestsforlife.org), by Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life. ))
Prayer to the Virgin Mary
O Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all, we turn to you today as the one who said “Yes” to Life. “You will conceive and bear a Son,” the angel told you. Despite the surprise and the uncertainty about how this could be, you said yes. “Be it done unto me according to your word.”
Mary, we pray today for all mothers who are afraid to be mothers. We pray for those who feel threatened and overwhelmed by their pregnancy. Intercede for them, that God may give them the grace to say yes and the courage to go on. May they have the grace to reject the false solution of abortion. May they say with you, “Be it done unto me according to your word.” May they experience the help of Christian people and know the peace that comes from doing God’s will. Amen.
St. Brigid of Ireland
(St. Brigid, who died in 525, was a friend of Saint Patrick. Though living in a pagan society, she preserved a pure and generous heart. She is a patron saint of midwives. Her Feast Day is February 21)
St. Brigid of Ireland,
We thank God along with you
For the strong, pure and generous heart
With which he blessed you.
You were a light in the darkness,
Spreading the Christian Gospel of Life
Amidst a society that neither knew nor understood This new Way of Life in Jesus Christ. We ask your prayers,
That we too may spread the pro-life message of Christ And through our profound respect for the smallest human beings, Proclaim to the world
How much God loves human life
And how great is our destiny,
To be with Christ on his throne!
We also ask your prayers for all midwives,
And for all mothers who are pregnant or giving birth.
Calm their fears,
Increase their joy,
And bless them with the love that every mother is called to give,
In Jesus Name. Amen.
St. Brigid of Ireland, pray for us!
Prayer to the Holy Spirit, the Advocate
O Holy Spirit of God, You were promised to us by the Lord Jesus as an Advocate, as one who pleads our cause and speaks up for us in the heights of heaven. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever…”(Jn.14:15).
The apostle Paul has taught us that You intercede for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech (Rom. 8:26).
We praise You today for the gift of salvation, for we are deeply aware that we cannot save ourselves. We have sinned, and we cannot win forgiveness on our own. We need an Advocate.
We ask You, O Holy Spirit, to make us ever more aware of those who need us as advocates. Grant that we may hear the cries of our youngest, smallest brothers and sisters, those still in the womb, who cannot speak or defend themselves, and who cannot even pray.
Holy Spirit, as You are the Advocate, so make us advocates. As You hear our cries for mercy, so let us hear the cries of others for mercy. Save us from the misfortune of seeking mercy only for ourselves, while being deaf to others. As you loosened the tongues of the apostles at Pentecost, so grant us today a Pentecost for the unborn, that we may speak for them before the great and the small, before governments and institutions, and before all Your people. Amen.
A Prayer for our Courts to Protect the Unborn
Lord, God and Father of Life,
You love all that you have created,
And protect all who are in danger.
You sent your Son Jesus Christ
To establish Justice on the earth.
And You entrust us to the care of each other.
You have established earthly authority
To protect the rights that you yourself bestow, And to you our Founders looked
As the Supreme Judge of the world.
Lord, your People have failed, On a personal level and in civic society,
To provide adequate protection
To those who need it the most.
We pray today for the smallest human beings, The children yet in the womb.
We pray that their parents will generously welcome them And vigorously reject any temptation to kill them by abortion.
We pray that our laws will protect their right to life. And that the decisions of our courts Will uphold those laws And preserve that protection.
In particular we pray for those who serve on the courts across our land:
The Supreme Court, the other federal courts, and the state courts. Give your wisdom to all judges and their clerks,
And to the attorneys who argue before them To seek protection for the unborn.
Give them courage to issue righteous decisions And to resist the temptation to judge according to personal opinion
Or to bow to pressure or threats.
Help all to realize that the right to life,
Bestowed on us by You, Lord God,
Cannot be removed or diminished by a court, But rather, that the very nature of justice And the very purpose of government is to secure that right.
Lord, give the unborn, and our whole nation, a new and refreshing season of Life.
Bring us a new breath of freedom,
A new measure of common sense,
A rediscovery of justice and wisdom
And a big step forward in building a culture of life. Your Son Jesus Christ Came to grant freedom to the oppressed. Grant freedom, then, to the children in the womb And in these days, set our nation on a course Of rejecting the violence of abortion, And treating children in the womb With equal justice under law.
Bring us, O Lord, the victory of Life. We pray in the Name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
Redeemer in the Womb
Lord Jesus Christ, You took our human nature upon Yourself. You shared our life and death, our childhood and adulthood.
You also shared our time in the womb. While still God, while worshiped and adored by the angels, while Almighty and filling every part of the universe, You dwelt for nine months in the womb of Mary. You were our Redeemer in the womb, our God who was a preborn child.
Lord Jesus, we ask You to bless and protect the children who today are in their mothers’ womb. Save them from the danger of abortion. Give their mothers the grace to sacrifice themselves, in body and soul, for their children. Help all people to recognize in the preborn child a brother, a sister, saved by You, our Redeemer in the womb.
No Cowardly Spirit
God our Father, your Apostle Paul declared that the Spirit you have given us
is no cowardly spirit,
But rather one of power, love and self-control (2 Tim 1).
Fill us today, Lord, with that Spirit,
As we live amidst a culture of death
In which many contradict our beliefs about life
And many try to hinder our work of saving lives.
Amidst falsehood, You call us to proclaim truth;
In the shadow of death, You empower us to bring about life;
In the face of opposition, You command us to stand firm.
We rely on your Spirit,
Who leaves no room for cowardice,
But fills us with the courage to defend the unborn.
In your Spirit, we speak for these children
When others pretend they do not exist,
And we call for their protection
As others make a shameful profit by killing them.
Free us from all cowardice, and give us courage.
Give the preacher the courage to proclaim the Gospel of Life.
Give the student the courage to defend the unborn on campus.
Give the lawmaker the courage to introduce pro-life bills.
Give the voter the courage to elect pro-life candidates.
Give the reporter the courage to convey the truth about abortion.
Give the doctor and nurse the courage to reject any involvement in abortion.
Give the pro-life advocate the courage to endure ridicule and rejection.
Give the pro-life counselor the courage to lead the abortion-minded client toward life.
Give the mom , the dad, and the grandparents the courage to welcome unexpected new life.
Give those who have had abortions the courage to turn back to you with repentance. Give each of us the courage to do exactly what we need to do to end abortion.
Father, Your Spirit is our sweet rest in the midst of our labors to build the Culture of Life.
May we enjoy each day the abundance of His presence and grace,
And always know that in You our labors are never in vain.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Families Wounded by Abortion
Father of life,
You are the origin of every family
And you are the healer
Of every wound.
We know that there is nothing
That destroys the family more than abortion.
It is the greatest destroyer
Of love and peace.
Today we pray for all families,
And in particular for those
Who experience the deep wounds of abortion,
And the division that it brings.
We pray for those whose marriages
Have been broken due to an abortion,
And for those alienated
From parents, siblings, or other relatives.
We pray for those
Who today are alone
Because abortion has taken others
Out of their lives
And out of their families.
Lord, bring hope into their despair
And bring light into their darkness.
Show them the path to healing,
And set them on the road to peace.
And even if their family
Can never be one again here on earth,
Fill them with the hope
Of all who look forward to the world to come,
Where there will be no more death,
No more crying out or pain,
And where you, Lord God of Life,
Will make all things new.
We pray in the Name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
A More Eloquent Plea
“No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.” (Heb. 12:21-24).“Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean…learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow” (Is. 1:15-17).
Father of Mercies, God of Love,
What wonders You have shown us
In giving Your only Son,
Not to condemn the world but to save it.
Father, You have been pleased
To gather us together in Your Son
And in the Holy Spirit
As a community filled with the joy of life
And of intimacy with You.
Father, You have made this possible
Through the blood of Jesus Your Son, our Savior.
As we see that blood shed for us,
We realize that no sin can ever discourage us again,
And no accusation of the Evil One can drag us down.
We are redeemed, we are forgiven, we are set free in Christ!
We are no longer scattered by sin,
But gathered, in joyful celebration, in Your Son!
Lord, we know that the blood of the innocent children
Who have been killed by abortion
Stains our land and cries out to heaven.
That blood also cries out to us,
To our hearts broken over the sin of abortion,
And to our consciences,
As we realize we must work to end this violence.
But what joy we have
In knowing that the blood of Your Son
Is speaking on our behalf
And is overpowering the voice
Of violence, sin, shame and guilt.
Father, may every person
Who has been guilty of cooperating in abortion,
By what they have done
Or by what they have failed to do,
Take new courage from the blood of Christ,
Turn to You in life-giving repentance,
And rejoice in the forgiveness and freedom
That is ours in the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
