“The hypocrisy of our governments has been exposed by them declaring the killing of preborn children an essential service.”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

One death is too many. Every life matters. We must take a stand to save lives. This has been the creed of the pro-life movement for decades. Suddenly, this past year, these messages were appropriated by governments in Canada and across the world. Yet, the irony and cognitive dissonance when it comes to abortion is making people think.

“While there have been countless reports of massive delays or complete cancellations, for even the most urgent of life-saving surgeries, there have been few—if any—reports of changes in access to life-ending abortions in Canada,” states Cameron Côté, the western outreach director for the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform.

“The current mantra of ‘one more death is too many’ has made people think,” adds Hanna Kepka, of Campaign Life Coalition. “The hypocrisy of our governments has been exposed by them declaring the killing of preborn children through abortion as an essential service. This fact alone should incite everybody to pause and consider what is going on. What are the priorities of our government?”

“On TikTok alone, we reached over 10.5 million young people on one account this year.”

It seems that Canadians are taking notice. Many pro-life groups report increased engagement since the pandemic began. Although largely unreported by the media, Parliament is facing a bill to ban sex-selective abortions. At the same time, Côté says pro-life groups and individuals are increasingly discussing the abortion issue with their friends and family members. Whether it is from increased stress, financial strain, or the general mood of uncertainty, Côté says Canadians are more open to discussing the issue than in the past.

Ruth Lobo sees this firsthand. She leads the National Campus Life Network, which supports pro-life campus groups and advocates for the pro-life cause among students. As students moved online, pro-life social media channels saw massive engagement.

“We spent countless hours talking to youth online about abortion via 17 different social media accounts (club social medias and our own national ones),” says Lobo. “We found there to be a high appetite for these conversations. On TikTok alone, we reached over 10.5 million young people on one account [this year], and hundreds have left comments wanting to talk about abortion.”

“After COVID, there will be a hunger for in-depth conversation.”

One particular event had such high student engagement that three university administrations took notice.

The director of a local crisis pregnancy centre believes this increased engagement will continue long after COVID. The director spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak more freely.

“In our current environment, people are having shorter conversations and communicating just over the computer. After COVID, there will be a hunger for in-depth conversation. We will see more people reaching out who want to sit down and talk.”

While the centre engages with many women through Zoom, some services (such as pregnancy tests and material aid) require in-person visits. Other times, women are facing a mental health crisis and even suicidal thoughts, so the centre meets with them where necessary.

“For a lot of our clients, we are the first people they are able to sit down and have a real conversation with. I think COVID is increasing that and making people more alone.”

These conversations can prove invaluable for women in crisis.

“When it comes to abortion, people need to know there is a place they can go to find hope and compassion.”

“If someone goes to a doctor, the doctor doesn’t have time to go through all the parenting options,” the director explains. “Doctors don’t really deal with adoptions and often don’t know much about that. They do know how to prescribe things [like the abortion pill], so they do that. Most people who come to us are leaning toward having an abortion because that’s all society offers them.”

Crisis pregnancy centres help women understand their options, how they can get support if they choose parenting, what is available if they are open to adoption, and they try to make sure women experience love and care so they are comfortable coming back to the centre if they choose abortion.

“When it comes to abortion, people need to know there is a place they can go to find hope and compassion. As a Church, we need to think about how to discuss abortion without setting it up as an unredeemable sin.

“We are able to share the Gospel with people who are far from the Lord.”

“There are 100,000 women in this city who have gone through an abortion (and 100,000 men). If we don’t approach them with an attitude of grace and the hope that is present in the Gospel, then we are shutting out 20 percent of the population of the city. That’s horrifying.”

As they speak with post-abortive women and help them process their trauma and grief, the centre director says the Gospel becomes a natural conversation.

“We are able to share the Gospel with people who are far from the Lord. They think that God hates them and the Church hates them. So we try to build bridges back to God and we see God speak into the lives of people who are very far from Him.”