Southfield — It looked like a typical Saturday morning at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.

Cars were parked nose to tail, hymnals were distributed, solemnity reigned and mourners gather around the grave.

Only this day was different. The deceased were different. They never had the chance to walk, never had the chance to see, never had the chance to feel, and never had the chance to live.

On Saturday, Sept. 9, mourners gathered at Holy Sepulchre and four other sites across Michigan for the fifth annual National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children.

Monica Migliorino Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, was the master of ceremonies for the Holy Sepulchre memorial, where about 50 people gathered to sing hymns and read Scripture at the gravesite of 23 unborn babies.

Every human being is special, but not all of those buried at Holy Sepulchre died as forgotten victims of violence, Miller said.

“That’s who these 23 are. The only reason these remains are here is because a member from [Citizens for a Pro-Life Society] rescued their remains from a Woman Care Clinic in Lathrup Village between February and April in 2008. We’re here to honor their existence,” Miller said.
Mourners placed balloons and ribbons at the gravesite, singing “How Great Thou Art” and reading from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, where Jesus describes a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats.

The Rev. Levon Yuille, pastor of The Bible Church in Ypsilanti and national director of the National Black Pro-Life Congress, gave the reflection on the reading.

“There is a God in heaven we all have to answer to,” Rev. Yuille said. “No matter how rich or strong we are, everyone will need to stand before the King. These babies were murdered, and then thrown with the waste. There will be a time when everyone will have to give account as to why they were murdered, why they were buried in this way, and what did we do to stop it.”

One hundred and eighty-five memorial services for aborted babies took place across the country on Sept. 9, according to Miller, including memorials at Assumption Grotto Parish Cemetery in Detroit, White Chapel Cemetery in Troy and St. Joseph Cemetery in Lansing.

The memorial services were an opportunity to remind people why the pro-life cause continues, said Travon Clifton, a pro-life speaker with Save the 1, an organization that opposes abortion in all cases, including rape and incest.

“When I was 18, my mother told me I was conceived in rape,” Clifton told the mourners gathered at Holy Sepulchre. “At that time, I felt it was a woman’s right to choose. I even felt that way about myself.

“Now I’m here to say, I’m someone conceived from rape. That is part of my identity, but it’s not my identity,” Clifton said. “People ask, ‘Do you know who your father is?’” I say, ‘I know who my Father is, he’s in heaven.’ We all have a Father who cares for us.”

Clifton ended her testimony by thanking her mother, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in July, for choosing life in the face of difficult circumstances.

“I’m here to tell you, to provide witness for my mother who made this choice,” Clifton said. “It was hard, it was difficult. But I can tell you, you can love both. Love both the woman who didn’t ask to be raped, and the baby who didn’t ask to be conceived by rape.”

Clifton said since she began telling her story in February 2013, she’s had nasty comments said about her online and in person, but said it can’t distract from her message of love.

“The journey I have is a journey worth sharing. I’m here now; I love everyone,” Clifton said. “I love my family, and I love that we are all here today. To be here for the people who had no one there for them.”