“Never tire of firmly speaking out in defense of life from its conception and do not be deterred from the commitment to defend the dignity of every human person with courageous determination. Christ is with you: be not afraid!”
~Saint John Paul II
 
"It is a poverty that a ‘child must die’ so that you may live as you wish.”
~Blessed Mother Teresa
 
 
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
~Thomas Jefferson
 
 
“Each person matters; no human life
is redundant.”
~Basil Hume, OSB, OM
Cardinal and Archbishop of Westminster
 
 
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 
No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
~Jesus Christ (John 14:6)
 
 
“It is God who remains the sovereign Master of Life.  We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us.  It is not ours to dispose of.”
~CCC 2280
 
“The problem we have with this particular type of research is that you have to kill a person to get these stem cells. 
That’s unethical!
~Judie Brown
President of the American Life League

Welcome to St. Raphael’s Respect for Life Committee

St. Raphael has a long history of working to uphold the Sanctity of Life within our faith community. The RFL Committee meets monthly on the third Tuesday evening of the month from September until June. We invite you to join us to learn more about our committee activities. For additional information, please contact Sandy Shamburek at 240-864-2514 or email her at sshamburek@straphaels.org. You can also check out this homepage of our website on several of the activities we do throughout the year.




 

Mission Statement:  St. Raphael’s Respect for Life Committee (RFL) seeks to promote a greater reverence in both our parish and community, for the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.  We approach this task with a readiness to nurture and sustain this precious gift of human life through pro-life education, advocacy, works of charity and prayer.  In an effort to successfully promote a culture of life in an increasingly complex world, we share the Catholic Church’s teachings on a wide range of life issues, such as abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, contraception, infertility procedures and the death penalty.  We humbly commit ourselves to spreading the message of God’s Word and Love as it pertains to the infinite values of each human life created in His very image and likeness (Genesis 1:26).

Please sign the petition "American Medical Association, babies do feel pain before 20 weeks!"  By signing this petition, you are asking the AMA to recognize that babies in utero indeed do feel pain as early as 20 weeks, which can give pause to women considering abortion. Click here to sign!

Mustard Seed Project:    This effort involves sending a printed letter to corporations that support Planned Parenthood (PP).  The goal of the monthly letter-writing campaign is to communicate the pro-life position and to urge retraction of financial support to PP.  When hundreds of letters are recieved by C.E.O.s of said corporations, we hope it will motivate them to change their philanthropy policies.  To find the most currently letter, click here:

March 2018 Letter

April 2018 Letter

May 2018 Letter

June 2018 Letter

Scroll down for Crisis Pregnancy Resources.

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For assistance email sshamburek@straphaels.org.

Crisis Pregnancy Resources:  Are you facing an unplanned pregnancy and are being pushed to resolve the “problem”?  You do not have to face this decision alone or make it hastily.  There are several life-affirming resources available to help not to regret your decision.  They are as follows:

Shady Grove Pregnancy Center
16220 N. Frederick Road, #118
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
301-963-6223
www.pregnancy-options.org/
 
Centro Tepeyac Pregnancy Center
12248 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20902
301-587-9516
www.centrotepeyac.org/
 
Rockville Pregnancy Clinic
12530 Parklawn Drive, #170
Rockville, MD 20852
301-301-770-4444
www.rockvillepregnancyclinic.org/
 
Archdiocese of Washington Resources
Visit:  http://www.adw.org/pregnant-need-help/
 

Healing after an abortion?
Call Project Rachel at 301-853-4565