Canada’s March for Life 2013
Campaign Life Coalition is a national pro-life organization that defends the human race against social injustices such as abortion, euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide. Their advocacy and main concern is to secure protection for all human beings, regardless of race, age, or gender. Throughout the year, Campaign Life Coalition organizes various activities that focus on demanding the rights of children before and after birth.
Their biggest event is the National March for Life, which began in 1997. It is an annual three-day event that is held in Ottawa, Ontario. Thousands of pro-lifers gather together in the month of May to publicly and peacefully protest abortion. This year, a record-breaking 25,000 participants gathered to support the right to live; at least 10,000 more than the march in 2011.
The Candlelight Vigil is the first of activities in the three-day event. This year, 16,000 people attended—the largest record of attendance in the sixteen-year history of the National March for Life. The Candlelight Vigil commemorated the victims of abortion. It was held at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights Monument.
The march occurred on the second day. The participants were addressed by various pro-life speakers such as Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, Quebec Archbishop Gerald Cyprien, Toronto Cardinal Thomas Collins, Conservative MPs David Anderson and James Lumrey, Campaign Life Coalition National President Jim Hughes, and many more. After gathering at Parliament Hill, everyone marched around downtown Ottawa. Due to the unprecedented number of people who participated, the march lasted only for an hour (about the last third of the march was prevented from walking the streets of Ottawa as the scheduled timeframe was not long enough for everyone to march).
On the final day of the event, the youth were gathered together and participated in the Youth Conference. The conference is a venue for young people to learn more about life and the rights of every individual, including the unborn baby, to live. It was emphasized that abortion, a termination of a pregnancy by any means, is not an option and is definitely unacceptable. The conference drew over eight hundred young pro-lifers from across Canada. “The entire experience was a complete eye opener to what really goes on in our world,” said Cameron Sehl, a grade nine student from St. Joseph Catholic High School in Nepean. Reputable guest speakers like Reggie Littlejohn, Ryan Bomberger, David Bereit, Brian Lilley, and Alissa Golob were featured at the workshops.
The National March for Life is a great opportunity for everyone to become aware of how important it is to stand up against abortion and the negative effects of this intolerable crime. Young people who attend the Youth Conference leave with a solid knowledge of why they believe what they believe. Our politicians see how many people oppose abortion and are faced with the fact that the abortion debate is important. All the families and people attending are given renewed hope by seeing that they are not alone. The march is a visible witness to the importance of life, the beauty of life: everyone, including the unborn, has the right to live.
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