We often talk about the road towards passing pro-life legislation being a long one. After decades of having no abortion law, and in a hostile political climate, we need to remember that we aren’t going to pass abortion laws overnight. It’s going to take time. And it’s going to require faithful and persistent action, capitalizing on the opportunities we have.
Pro-abortion politicians were very good at immediately using the U.S. news leak to bring up pro-abortion motions, always leading with their most compelling argument: women should be free to choose. The Bloc party brought forward a pro-abortion motion that failed in the House of Commons, and the Status of Women Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee both saw pro-abortion motions put forward by Liberal MPs. At the time, we asked you to reach out to the committee members and to your own MP. Thank you to everyone who did this! With about one more week of Parliamentary activity before their summer break, it looks like none of the pro-abortion motions are going to move forward at this time.
There are several MPs who worked hard behind the scenes in order to stop these motions. We think it’s important to note that there are faithful politicians keeping a close ear to the ground and quietly making a difference for pre-born children. Abortion is a hard topic to tackle, with the pressure in Ottawa for every politician to fully support every abortion regardless of the reason. If your MP is pro-life, consider sending them a note of encouragement. We want them to understand that they are not alone and that we see and appreciate the hard work that they do.
What we would like to see next time the media and our culture are talking about abortion is for pro-life politicians to also use the opportunity, not just to stop the other side, but to push forward pro-life arguments with equal passion. The best way to do this is by leading with our most compelling argument: abortion ends a human life.
It takes wisdom and courage to know how best to do this. It’s often done best when politicians advocate for specific policies that have broad support among Canadians, like banning sex selective abortions or recognizing pre-born children as victims of crime. At the same time, we need to be very intentional about the language we use and ensure that it always draws attention to the humanity of the child in the womb.
As we look back on the past couple months, we’re grateful for those working hard in Parliament to stop the progression of the pro-abortion motions. And we’re also continuing to encourage those in positions of influence to go further, to push forward the pro-life message at every opportunity. After all, this isn’t a political game. Every day approximately 300 pre-born children are legally killed in this country. We each have our own sphere of influence and the responsibility to use it to advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves.