Can aborted babies be baptized or given Christian funerals?
Yes. Canon law directs us to baptize a miscarried or aborted fetus if there is any chance he or she may still be alive. (Canon 871) Catholic funeral rites include special funeral prayers for children who die before baptism, which can be used in the case of a miscarried or stillborn child. American bishops have held funeral and burial services for unborn children killed by abortion. In the Archdiocese of New York we have a burial plot at Gate of Heaven Cemetery called the Guardian Angel’s Plot for the burial of children who died after birth or before birth. This includes babies who were miscarried or aborted. 15. Don’t the bishops neglect the needs of women and children and the poor because of a preoccupation with abortion? At the outset it must be noted that the Church does consider abortion the most important issue of our day. The resolution on abortion unanimously endorsed by the bishops of the United States in November, 1989 reads, in part: “At this particular time, abortion has bec
