When I was growing up in the 80’s and 90’s in Alberta (across the border from Montana), 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. Yet somehow, I knew what it was, and somehow, I knew it was wrong.
At ten years old, I began reading my Bible daily. As I read my Bible, God’s Word began to instruct my heart and feed my soul. I came across Psalm 139 and learned that God is always with me no matter where I go, and He knows everything about me because He is my Creator. And in verses 13-16, I 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. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was begin made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
By God’s grace, I realized that I am precious to Him and that my life had begun before I was even born. I then came to the logical conclusion that if this was true for me, it was true for everyone.
I was 14 when I participated in perhaps the only conversation about abortion I would ever have until my twenties. It was during a sleepover with some friends from school. As we sat in my friend’s basement bedroom, two of the girls argued that abortion in the case of rape was justifiable while my best friend and I attempted unsuccessfully to articulate that there was never a just cause for the killing of an unborn child. All I knew was that a baby is a baby, and no baby, regardless of the circumstances of their conception, should be sentenced to death.
When I was 17, riding home on the bus from school one day, I overheard the girl behind me talking to the friend beside her. I recognized her to be a girl a couple of years younger than me from my neighborhood. In hushed tones, she shared that her period was late. She sounded scared, vulnerable. The implication of that one simple sentence was clear. I never saw her again, but I’ve always wondered, what was the outcome? Was she pregnant? Did she have the baby, or did she…?
For many years, abortion was shrouded in mystery, like a dark figure enveloped in deep fog. 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. And because no one ever talked about it and I had never been confronted with it, it flew below the radar of my awareness. I remained there until God, in His infinite grace and mercy, brought it to my attention in the most jarring and unexpected way—through a prenatal diagnosis (click here to read the November 2023 blog post series 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. I could no longer hide from the hideous truth that babies were being killed every day across my country. 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.
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?
The doctors had deemed my unborn son unworthy of life. But we chose it anyway. As I moved beyond the initial trauma of my son’s diagnosis and hospital stay, I began to voice the outrage and sense of injustice I felt to friends and family. While friends and family were understanding, and though they were all believers, not one felt moved to respond.
For a time, I felt powerless to take action.
In Canada, on the surface, the landscape looks bleak. Most Canadians don’t want to think about abortion. There has been no law of any kind to protect the unborn since 1988 making abortion up until birth legal across the entire nation, 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 think about the dismembered limbs and crushed skulls of babies. They don’t want to be reminded of their own abortion regret and trauma. 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.
And what about those Canadians who recognize that abortion is wrong? Why don’t they do anything? The reason they don’t speak up is because of fear. Fear of standing out from the crowd. Fear of being ostracized. Fear of being vulnerable about their own abortion experiences. Fear of losing relationships. Fear of losing jobs. It holds us back. It shackles us. It keeps us silent.
In Canada, openly pro-life political hopefuls are rarely, if ever, elected. When undercover pro-life candidates win an election, their efforts to bring about change receive backlash, so many others remain silent, unwilling to risk their political futures. Though courageous politicians have attempted to introduce legislation to protect the unborn, they have never been successful, and so Canada continues to carry the shame of being linked with North Korea as the only two countries in the world with no law of any kind.
But that’s not the end of the story.
In 2022 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. I was no longer alone in my convictions.
Together, we petition the Lord with prayers full of faith and hope and expectation. We pray that vulnerable abortion-minded women (and men) will find hope and courage in Jesus to choose life for their precious children. We pray for hearts to heal from past abortions through the forgiveness and grace that Jesus offers. We pray for unjust healthcare systems and laws to change. We pray for revival in Canada, that blinded spiritual eyes will open and hardened hearts will soften.
Through this group of believers, I have met and learned about people across the country 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)—people from all walks of life using their God-given talents to advance the cause that is close to the heart of Jesus. I just recently began working in one of these great organizations that are saving lives.
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. A few pastors are beginning to talk about this issue in their churches. A few believers are beginning to take action—to mobilize prayer groups, to start abortion recovery programs, to get involved with pro-life organizations, to get involved politically, and to learn how to share their convictions in a loving way.
We pray that as more and more Canadians begin to stir, they will rise up from beds of comfortable slumber, put on their spiritual armor, take up their spiritual swords, and join their fellow Christians in the battle that rages. And we believe that they will.
Will you rise up?
If you have a heart for Canada, would you consider praying for us? Even better, join the Life Room, www.liferoom.ca, and pray with us.
Want to equip your church to speak for the unborn? Visit www.speakfortheunborn.com/churches.
