Pro-life ministry sees “unprecedented results across the country”.

Jenny Burr
Spur Ottawa Correspondent

Abortion is a delicate subject. At times, secular Canadian society seems to hold “a woman’s right to choose” as more sacred than practically all else. Yet the pro-life movement is a powerful and growing force and one Canadian ministry believes they have a plan that can turn the tides.

“Imagine a country in which all human beings, both born and pre-born, have the same human rights,” says Maaike Rosendal, the Eastern Outreach Director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR). “CCBR exists not only to imagine an abortion-free Canada, but also to make the direct and intentional killing of pre-born human beings unthinkable.”

CCBR’s main focus is public education about abortion and pro-life apologetics training. Their website explains that “societal misperception of the pre-born has led to widespread acceptance of activities such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research, which treat the pre-born as commodities rather than as human beings.”

To change society’s view, Rosendal speaks internationally on abortion and offers training in pro-life apologetics. She has also debated with philosophy professors and the Canadian late-term abortionist, Dr. Fraser Fellows.

Maaike Rosendal provides pro-life apologetics training to help believers effectively articulate their views. Photo by Andrew Grant.

“CCBR’s two-pronged approach is having unprecedented results across the country,” she says. “In a pluralistic society, like ours, the common ground Canadians share is a belief in human rights. As pro-lifers, our job is to make a compelling and scientific case for the humanity of the pre-born, from fertilization.

“At the same time, we tell the story of those who’ve been denied their human rights, in the most effective possible way: through pictures.”

While extremely controversial, the ministry says using graphic images of aborted babies is one of the most effective ways to impact people’s perception. They even hired a polling firm to validate the effectiveness of the abortion-victim images.

CCBR’s Eastern staff and interns last July. Photo by Andrew Grant.

“Sixty-seven percent of the people who’ve seen an image of an aborted fetus say they have increased negative feelings about abortion,” Rosendal shares. “The images almost always evoke a response ranging from disbelief to shock, sadness to anger, or even a gratitude for the truth being shown.”

Jacqeline C. Harvey is the researcher who analyzed the data. She adds that “abortion-victim imagery in itself, regardless of presentation, is intrinsically effective at altering previously positive perceptions on abortion and changing the culture.”

In 2016, CCBR teams spent more than 600 hours doing pro-life apologetics outreaches. The outreaches took place on the streets, in front of high schools, college, and university campuses, and door to door.

A CCBR outreach team speaks with students on a university campus. Photo by Andrew Grant.

One observation that stood out to the teams is that many individuals are pro-abortion by default. However, once they are more informed, many become pro-life supporters. One example is a young girl a CCBR outreach team recently met. She told them, “I’m glad you’re here. Hopefully others won’t make the choice I made.”

Rosendal says through the work, “a tremendous difference can be and is constantly made. With God’s blessing we can end the killing.”