Father Thomas Vander WoudeA priest from a Gainesville, Virginia parish was faced with the challenge of a lifetime when he decided to avert a couple's plan to abort their child after it was diagnosed with Down Syndrome by promising to find a home for their baby.
The Washington Times is reporting that Father Thomas Vander Woude of Holy Trinity Catholic Church learned about the situation when the mother, whose identity is not being revealed, was almost six months pregnant and just within the state's 24 week legal limit. If she was to have an abortion, it had to be soon; and if he was to find a home for the baby, it had to be even sooner.
Thanks to the help of a volunteer, he was able to post an urgent plea on Facebook that read:
“There is a couple in another state who have contacted an adoption agency looking for a family to adopt their Down Syndrome unborn baby. If a couple has not been found by today they plan to abort the baby. If you are interested in adopting this baby please contact Fr. VW IMMEDIATELY,” the post read. “We are asking all to pray for this baby and the wisdom that this couple realize the importance of human life and do not abort this beautiful gift from God.”
The post asked people to call the church’s office after 9:30 a.m. Monday or to email Father Vander Woude.
“When we got in and opened up around 9:30, it was nearly nonstop. All day long, we were receiving phone calls from people who wanted to adopt the baby,” church staff member Martha Drennan said. “Father Vander Woude has gotten over 900 emails in regard to the baby.”
Calls came from all over the U.S., as well as from countries such as England, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands.
“I think it is a wonderful use of social media, that word can so quickly get all over the country and even to foreign countries and that the people who see the value of life are stepping up and saying, ‘I will take that baby and raise that baby as mine,’” Ms. Drennan told the Times. “It was a beautiful witness all day long that so many people wanted this child and believed in the dignity of that child — Down syndrome or not.”
David Dufresne, a seminary student who plans to become a priest next year, was one of the volunteers who helped man the phones after the Facebook post went viral.
“I was taking calls for about three hours straight, just talking to people who are willing to adopt this little baby they never knew about until that morning,” Mr. Dufresne said. “I mean, all day long, just receiving phone calls from people who were so generous and within a couple minutes made a life-changing decision. I was really inspired by the goodness of people and what they would do to save a life.”
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