Catholics and other concerned citizens gather on April 7 outside the state Legislative Office Building in Hartford to oppose an assisted suicide bill and a bill to restrict advertising at pregnancy care centers during the “Freedom to Live” candlelight vigil rally. Photo by Aaron Joseph
Story by Shelley Wolf
HARTFORD – Approximately 150 concerned Catholics and others turned out on April 7 for a prayerful “Freedom to Live” candlelight vigil rally near the state Legislative Office Building to show their opposition to the latest anti-life legislation being proposed in the Connecticut General Assembly.
“One of the main purposes of the rally was to inspire a grass roots effort and send people away with an action item, which was to call their state senators and representatives and email them, and hopefully we will have generated some of that,” said Deacon David Reynolds, associate director for public policy for the Connecticut Catholic Conference. “We had a good size number, I’d say maybe 150 people. The general feedback from attendees is that it went very well.”
The rally provided an opportunity for those who are worried about two anti-life bills – one legalizing assisted suicide for the terminally ill, the other regulating advertising for faith-based pregnancy centers – to make their concerns known to legislators. The rally was organized by the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference and the Family Institute of Connecticut.
Beginning at 6:30 p.m., the rally opened with prayers offered by Father Glen Dmytryszyn, director of the Respect Life Office for the Archdiocese of Hartford.
Invited speakers included Lorraine ZuWallack, a registered nurse with years of experience providing home hospice care and end-of-life care; Dr. Frank Mongillo, who practices internal medicine in the New Haven area with privileges at Yale New Haven Hospital; Lisa Maloney, executive director of the Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center of Southeastern Connecticut and president of the Connecticut Pregnancy Care Coalition; and Anna Montalvo, director of Hispanic services for the ABC Women’s Center in Middletown.
At dusk, all attendees held lit candles and observed a moment of silence before closing prayers were recited by Reverend Abraham Hernandez, executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which represents more than 250 Hispanic Evangelical churches in Connecticut.
Due to the pandemic, the State Capitol and Legislative Office Building have been closed to the public this legislative session, making it especially difficult for lobbyists and citizens to reach legislators.
“When the building is open – it has been closed for this whole session – people would be allowed to come into the building, go to a public hearing, and talk to legislators. But none of that can take place with the building closed,” Deacon Reynolds said, explaining the need for a rally.
This year, two anti-life bills have made their way out of the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Health. A suicide assistance bill (House Bill 6425, “An Act Concerning Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill Patients”) is headed to the House of Representatives for possible consideration for the first time ever. Meanwhile, a bill aimed at restricting advertising for faith-based pregnancy centers (Senate Bill 835, “An Act Concerning Deceptive Advertising Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers”) is headed to the Senate.
In prior years, suicide assistance bills died in the Committee on Public Health, never reaching the House floor for a vote. Last year, the pregnancy center bill passed the committee but never came to a vote in the Senate.
“This is a critical moment when people who treasure life take a stand against the culture of death,” said Christopher Healy, executive director of the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, in a prepared statement prior to the event. “We hope our elected leaders hear the truth – that life is not something to be legislated away.”
Peter Wolfgang, executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut agreed. “Doctors should not prescribe suicide as a treatment and the legislature should not grant legal immunity to people who help you kill yourself,” he said. “Nor should it legislate viewpoint discrimination against pregnancy centers.”
For current information on these and other bills, and to sign up for action alerts from the Connecticut Catholic Public Affairs Conference, visit ctcatholicpac.org.