It has now been over 50 years since abortion became legal in Canada. A generation and a half has grown up under a system where preborn children have no legal protection, and where abortion is funded, normalized, and often unchallenged.
We’ve marched. We’ve prayed. We’ve legislated. We’ve picketed. And we’ve saved lives, praise God. But with every passing year, the mountain only seems to grow steeper, and the culture more entrenched.
If we’re honest, our movement has plateaued. Not for lack of passion, truth, or effort, but perhaps because we’ve been fighting with natural tools against a supernatural evil.
Abortion is not just a political issue or a personal tragedy. It is a spiritual battle, a direct assault on life, identity, and the image of God. And it is time we begin fighting it like one.
The most powerful force on earth is sanctifying grace. It is what makes the Church a beacon in the darkness. Yet many pro life organizations operate without it, not out of malice, but by omission.
When we forget the sacraments, when we ignore the spiritual dimensions of abortion, we risk becoming just another social movement. But we are more than that. We are a prophetic voice, a Church commissioned to proclaim the Gospel of Life, not just protect it legally.
We don’t just need more strategy. We need more sanctity.
I speak as someone who once chose abortion. I also speak as someone who found healing through the mercy of Christ and his Church.
There are countless women like me in our pews, in our schools, and on our sidewalks, wounded, silenced, afraid to speak up for life because they believe their past disqualifies them.
But the truth is this: post abortive voices carry a rare authority. We can expose the lie because we once believed it. We can reach the broken because we were them. And when we speak from a place of healing and grace, we disarm the enemy in a way arguments never could.
The future of the pro life movement depends on restoring these voices to the front lines, not in shame, but in redemption.
We need a renewed focus on spiritual preparation: confession, Eucharistic adoration, intercessory prayer, and deliverance. We need to call our leaders, speakers, and sidewalk teams to be in a state of grace. And we need to stop being afraid of sounding “too Catholic” in a culture that desperately needs the fullness of truth.
This is not about abandoning politics or public witness. It’s about reclaiming our identity and fighting with the weapons that heaven has given us.
God has already won the war. But he is asking us to show up for the battle.
It’s time we do, on our knees.
Elizabeth Sutcliffe is a member of the Catholic Speakers Organization. She lives in Kelowna.
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