Walk for Life

I did a speech today for Whitehorse's "Walk for Life". Thought maybe I should add it to the blog...


In 1969 a decision was made that has affected millions of lives. It was this year that Abortion became legal in Canada. Since that date millions of healthy, human beings have been lost at the hands of doctors in the name of “women’s rights” In 2005, the latest year on record, 96,815 abortions were performed on Canadian women. Since 1969 in Canada there have been just over 3 million abortions.

But so what? Those are just numbers… statistics. People would have you think that each of those numbers just represents a clump of cells, a non-living being… but I am here today to tell you that each of those numbers represents a life… a life that was never given the chance to see the light of day. Never given the chance to feel the love of a mothers embrace. Never given the chance to grow up and become all that they could have been. Each of those numbers represents a person, a soul that belonged to God and was loved by God.

Psalm 139 says “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

God has a plan even for the unborn child. He loves them, knows them, and cares for them. The biggest argument around abortion is whether a child in the womb is a person or not. We know from scripture that God believes he is. If you have ever seen an ultrasound of a tiny baby you will know that it is not just a clump of cells… it is a perfect, though somewhat alien looking, human being. Did you know that at 5 weeks the heart begins to beat? By 9 weeks fingerprints are already developed and a child is able to grasp and flex. By 11 weeks nearly all structures and organs are formed and beginning to function. So do you know of any other non-living thing has a heartbeat, arms, legs, eyes, muscles and essentially everything we as adults have? I know I don’t.

So we have all of this information… so what? To a pregnant woman who has found herself in a situation that may seem hopeless what does she do? It is easy for us to say don’t have an abortion, but in her shoes, what options does she have?

Well there are two options. Maybe she stays pregnant, gives birth to a beautiful baby and decides keep her child and raise them and love them and care for them. Or maybe she decides that she can’t give them the life she feels they deserve and so she places them for adoption. Both of these options are scary… they are not easy paths. And we have to understand that.

But Abortion isn’t easy either. Abortion may seem to some people to be the easy way out of a difficult situation, but it isn’t. Not only is it destroying and can I be so bold as to say murdering a human being, but there are risks to the women’s health as well. There are short term health risks, like bleeding and infection, long term risks like infertility and breast cancer, and as well risks for future pregnancy’s including premature births and ectopic pregnancy’s. But I think more than the physical risks, there are great psychological risks. Women who have had abortions are at a greater risk of suffering from anxiety, depression, drug-use, post-traumatic stress disorder just to name a few.

You know, it’s unfortunate that no matter what, a woman with an unwanted pregnancy will have to live with pain, in whatever form either physically or emotionally, no matter the choice she makes. It will not be an easy journey I am sure.

Now you may say, what do I know about the pain? I’ve never been in her shoes. I have never experienced an unwanted pregnancy. But I do know pain, because I have never experienced a WANTED pregnancy. My husband and I have tried for 6 years to start a family with no success. So I may not know the pain and suffering a woman who is considering abortion is going through. But I do know the pain of not being able to carry a child. And something else I know is that, that child is wanted and if not by the birth mom, then by someone else. There are thousands of people out there who would love that child. People like my husband and I who have gone through countless hours of paper work, courses and interviews so that we would be able and equipped to adopt a child.

Everyday that I hear of another Mom who has chosen to abort her baby I cry. I cry at the thought of that perfect child, helpless, without rights whose heart use to beat that didn’t know what was coming; a child that was brought into this world by no fault of their own. I cry when I think of the mom that will have to live with that decision for the rest of her life. I cry for the fathers that may not have wanted the child to be aborted, fathers who also have no rights when it comes to abortion. And, selfishly maybe, I think of people like us, who would do anything to have that child in our wombs, to protect them to love them and care for them.

I pray today that if you are pregnant and you are considering having an abortion please, just think about it a little longer. Do your research. Talk to someone you trust. Don’t go into such a life changing, a life ending decision without knowing all the facts.

And maybe today there is someone who has had an abortion. Maybe you are regretting that decision. Please know you are loved! God loves you, and we love you in Christ. And there is help out there for you. You will see on the signs today a number that you can call and receive guidance and help. As well, if you have a pastor feel free to talk with them. But the important thing is to talk to someone… find the emotional help you need.

I hope today that all of us here will understand the pain that is involved with abortions. That abortion is not a solution, but that the women who are faced with it may need our help, guidance and love. I pray that people will see, that Canada will see, that these tiny perfect lives are people who need protecting. Thank-you!