What Does it Mean to Be Pro-life in Canada?

When I was growing up in the 80’s and 90’s in Alberta, abortion never came up in conversation. We never talked about it at home. We never talked about it at school. We never talked about it at church. And yet somehow, I knew what it was, and somehow, I knew it was wrong.

At ten years old, as I began to read my Bible daily, I came across Psalm 139:13-14 and read the words that have become so dear to me:

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

By God’s grace, without any special training, the Lord showed me how precious I am to Him and how my life had begun before I was even born, and revealed that this truth extended not just me, but to everyone.

Despite my knowledge of the value unborn life, for many years abortion was shrouded in mystery. I had no idea where or how it was done. I had no idea what laws (or lack of laws) regulated it. I had no idea the emotional and spiritual toll it took on the individuals involved. I knew nothing until God, in His infinite grace and mercy, brought it to my attention in the most unexpected way—through a prenatal diagnosis. (See the November 2023 blog for the full story).

I would never be same.

The mask was ripped off. The gruesome truth was exposed. The plight of the unborn cried out to me. The call to “[r]escue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter” (Prov. 24:11) reverberated in my soul like a clarion call.

But as I looked around, it seemed that I was alone in my convictions. Hadn’t anyone else heard this call? Could no one hear the silent cries of the unborn, the muffled sobs of their mothers? Was anyone doing anything to right this injustice? What could I, one lone voice, do in the face of this great evil?

For a time, I felt powerless to take action, hopeless to see change.

In Canada, on the surface, the landscape can look bleak. There has been no law of any kind to protect the unborn since 1988, and most people are just fine with the status quo. I read an article from an American newspaper a couple of years ago that said that the issue of abortion in Canada is settled. In a way, the author was right. Canadians want to sweep the issue under the rug. They don’t want to be reminded of their own abortion regret. They don’t want to think about the dismembered limbs and crushed skulls of babies.  They don’t want to leave their comfort zones of work, family, friends, church and recreation. They don’t want to rock the boat. They don’t want a revolution. It’s just not the Canadian way. 

As Meg Woodard, ALIES Executive Director, explains, “We’re living in a climate that is so pro-abortion, it doesn’t occur to people that there could be an alternative choice. When we offer alternative choices, we’re coming up against people’s perceived truth and counteracting 18 years of lies.”

In Canada, openly pro-life political hopefuls are rarely, if ever, elected. When undercover pro-life candidates are elected, their efforts to bring about change often receive backlash, so many others remain silent, unwilling to risk their political futures. And so Canada continues to carry the shame of being linked with North Korea as the only two countries with no law to protect our most vulnerable citizens.

But that’s not the end of the story.

The Lord directed me to a group of like-minded prayer warriors from across the country who are part of a 24/7 prayer initiative to see the end of abortion in Canada (see www.liferoom.ca). At long last, I was no longer alone in my convictions. Together we petition the Lord with prayers full of faith and expectation. Through this group of believers, I have learned about people and organizations across the country such as ALIES who are engaged in the courageous work of “speak[ing] up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute,” (Prov. 31:8). 

In Canada, God is moving. There is an undercurrent of change. The Spirit of the Lord is at work. As the intercessors pray, people are beginning to wake up. We pray that as they begin to stir, they will rise up from beds of comfortable slumber, put on their spiritual armor and take up their spiritual swords. And we believe that they will join the battle call.