Pro-lifers to unite in March for Life May 12

Speakers in Victoria will include Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB

The B.C. Catholic

Tens of thousands of Canadians who stand against abortion are expected to take to the streets May 12.

Pro-lifers of diverse organizations and churches will unite at March for Life events in Ottawa, Victoria, and other provincial capitals that day.

“We have decided to present a unified voice from the entire pro-life movement as far and wide as we can reach,” said Campaign Life Coalition’s Johanne Brownrigg.

It will be the 19th consecutive year the massive March for Life will hit Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Last year an estimated 25,000 participants turned up.

In Victoria, it will be the ninth time a flood of demonstrators will walk down Government Street and rally on the lawn in front of the legislature. The size of that crowd usually hovers around 2,000.

“It really fortifies us in the pro-life movement to see that we’re not alone,” said Natalie Sonnen, the executive director of LifeCanada. She is one of several speakers scheduled for the Victoria rally.

“It’s really important for people to get out there and be seen and heard. It’s an opportunity to witness to life and family values. They are under attack.”

The local theme for the event is “Caring, Not Killing.” Sonnen said her short address will focus on the proposed euthanasia Bill C-14 and what pro-lifers can do to help people who are suffering.

“It’s going to be a huge ministry, I think, as part of the pro-life movement,” she said.

“We’re going to have to really wake up to the fact that we have many elderly people and people with disabilities who need us. We need to be visiting them and reaching out to them and making sure the pro-euthanasia crowd doesn’t get to them first.”

She pointed out that LifeCanada has launched a program called Dying Healed, which emphasizes the importance of going to hospitals and care homes and spending quality time with patients and residents.

“We certainly have a major role in reaching out to the ones who are at the end of life and reaffirming their lives,” she said.

Speakers in Victoria will also include Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, United for Life President John Hof, Vancouver family doctor Williard Johnston, and other local life advocates.

Before the march, Mass will be celebrated at 12 p.m. in St. Andrew’s Cathedral and in St. Patrick’s Church, both in Victoria, and a Protestant worship service will be held at 11:15 a.m. in the Greater Victoria Public Library.

The march will be followed by a March for Life Gala in the evening in St. Patrick’s Church hall, put on by National Campus Life Network.

Thousands of other activists will also rally at government buildings in Edmonton, Fredericton, Halifax, St. John’s, and Winnipeg that day.

More information is available at www.marchforlife.ca and www.m4lvictoria.ca.