Report from the Edmonton March for Life

A young Lutheran at the 2019 March for Life in Edmonton.

by Ian Stewart

On May 9, 2019 Lutherans for Life-Canada gathered in Edmonton to participate in the annual Alberta March for Life.

We met at the legislature around noon, listened to some speeches, marched through the city, and returned to the legislature to listen to more speeches. The speakers included a young girl with Down Syndrome, who spoke to the value of all lives, even those with disabilities.

The march was led by the Knights of Columbus and there were many other pro-life groups in attendance, including Anglicans for Life and the Association for Reformed Political Action. The exact number of people in attendance was not made known, but this author estimates that there were at least a thousand people or more. (There was also a small group of pro-abortion protesters who tried to disrupt the speakers.) There were other marches for life in provincial capital cities including Victoria, Regina, Winnipeg and Toronto, and a national March for Life in Ottawa.

This year, the March was a solemn occasion because 2019 marks the 50th year since abortion was legalized. In 1969, Pierre Trudeau’s government made abortion legal provided that a committee of doctors agree that it was necessary for the “health” of the mother. The law did not define the word “health” and some committees interpreted it very broadly to include even “mental and social well-being”.

In 1988, the Supreme Court’s decision in R. v. Morgentaler overturned even that restriction. To this day, Canada has no restriction on abortions. Abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy and publicly funded in all provinces. Furthermore, five provinces restrict the rights to free speech and free assembly of pro-lifers by banning pro-life activism in public places near abortion clinics. (Those are BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.)

Lutherans for Life – Canada (LFL) is a pro-life, pro-family ministry whose goal is to educate Lutherans about life issues and equip them to be voices for life. LFL believes in the sanctity of all life, from conception to natural death.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.” – (Proverbs 31:8)

———————

Print this article