There’s something special about the March for Life. To stand with so many Canadians who are passionate about the unborn and walk the streets with joy and conviction – it’s a uniquely beautiful experience. This was my second time attending the March. Accompanying Hamilton Right to Life this year, I got to attend the Rose Dinner Gala and the Youth Summit. It was awesome! We shouted through the streets-“Pro-choice is a lie; babies never choose to die!”, listened to Abby Johnson's testimony on how she left Planned Parenthood, and learned about the sad reality of Euthanasia in Canada. I could go over everything we did over those jam-packed two days, but we would be here for a while. Instead, I wanted to share three takeaways I got from the March.
1. Youth are the future of the pro-life movement.
It was really comforting to see the strong presence of young people at the March. Witnessing that youthful spirit gives me hope for the future. If you’re a young person, get involved in the pro-life effort – in any way you can! That might mean signing up for next year’s March. But more than that – consider volunteering at a local pregnancy centre, find out if your city has a pro-life group, getting in contact with your campus pro-life club or chaplaincyhttps://www.canadianmartyrshamilton.com/upcoming, and/or join a 40 days for life to pray to end abortion. And educate yourself on the pro-life position. Look into the science behind when life begins, and how to respond to those difficult situations in pregnancy. We all know students in high school or university who are casually pro-choice, indifferent, or undecided on this issue. Sometimes, having just one conversation can make a big impact.
2. The road to evil is a gradual one – but so is the way to real positive change.
One of the speakers at the summit, a former abortionist, talked about the “progressive desensitization process” of abortion. He mentioned that he did not become an abortionist right away, but was exposed to abortions, eventually becoming desensitized to the evil he had known was taking place. Evil decisions aren’t usually chosen out of nowhere – they start with small steps in the wrong direction. On the other hand, doing the right thing – step by step – can turn the tide. To win this fight, we’ve gotta continue choosing the good, even if our efforts are small. Small prayers, small conversations, small outreach. With the end goal in sight, we can end abortion by changing hearts, changing minds, and changing laws. We have life and death before us – let’s choose life!
3. If we are going to end abortion and euthanasia – our faith is essential.
Over the past year, I've tried to figure out the place of faith and religion in the pro-life movement. I am a practicing Catholic Christian, and my beliefs strongly influence my stance against abortion. However, I don’t think we are going to convince people by saying, “Abortion is wrong because the Bible says so.” I’m of the view that we’ve got to meet people where they are at – and for many people, that means using logic, science, and human rights to persuade them of the truth. But in the end, we need a ground for our stance against abortion – and we do not have one without God. March for Life was a testament to that. I got to witness how fervently and faithfully people pray to end abortion, especially in prayer missions like 40 Days for Life. To fight against such an immensely destructive and yet culturally pervading evil – we need the backing of faith. How you directly or indirectly reference your faith in dialogues with pro-choicers is a matter of discernment – but we cannot attempt to eliminate the culture of death without holding close to prayer and trusting in Christ.
As we march, let’s hope that a day will come when we won’t have to. When abortion and euthanasia are unthinkable.
Heyo! I’m a 19-year-old student finishing up a summer missionary position at Totus Tuus and entering my second year of Catholic Studies for Teachers. You can probably catch me playing basketball, listening to podcasts, or getting into deep conversations at any chance I get :D
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