(LifeSiteNews) — At least 50 Canadian young adults marched in the streets of Washington DC at the March for Life to call for an end to abortion.
Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) helped sponsor a bus of pro-life young people to bring American strategies and motivation back to Canada. With the fall of Roe v Wade last year, states are now able to legislate abortion as they see fit. CLC Youth Outreach and Coordinator Maeve Roche said the key term used at this year’s gathering was “the end of the beginning.”
“Last year we were gearing up in excitement, preparing for [Roe v Wade] to overturn, and then of course in June it was overturned,” she said. “This year I think there is still a grand sense of hope, but I think the American pro-life movement is turning its focus to…: ‘Now that Roe v Wade is no longer… we now have a lot of work to do'”
Roche led the group on a 12-hour journey from Mississauga, Ontario, to give the young Canadians the experience of being part of a massive gathering of likeminded people.
“The U.S. March in DC is the largest annual human rights demonstration in the world, so I think bringing our youth is truly a transformative experience,” she said. “They get to be surrounded by tens of thousands of American pro-lifers. There’s something really unique and reinvigorating about being involved in such a huge demonstration for the rights of the preborn.”
READ: Pro-lifers had plenty of reason to brave the snowy weather for the 2024 March for Life
The group stayed over the weekend to attend the Youth Summit the next day. Roche said the Canadians were not out of place as thousands of people attended from all around the world.
“At the summit we get to hear from a variety of pro-life leaders from across the U.S. with a plethora of different fields of expertise.”
Some big names included former vice president Mike Pence, former abortion clinic director Abby Johnson, and Englishwoman Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who has been arrested for praying near an abortion clinic in London.
“Just having prisoners of conscience also be there, [it was] really inspiring to hear their stories of laying down their lives for the preborn,” Roche said.
Roche has attended the U.S. National March for Life three times now, and she said the movement is even more focused on forming plans of action this year.
“Now the pro-life movement has turned its focus on to implementing legislation at the state level,” she said. “[It is] also seeing where we need to better co-ordinate in terms of pregnancy care outreach and dealing with things like the abortion pill being shipped across state lines in the mail.”
Roche was especially grateful for the opportunity to be immersed in the diversity of the pro-life movement, which helped give ideas for activism back home in Canada.
“I think global solidarity is really important when it comes to the pro-life movement,” she said. “It’s not just a national issue, it’s a global issue, in terms of abortion legislation, and the number of abortions that are taking place annually. It doesn’t end at the state lines.”
The Canadian National March for Life is on May 9th this year. The Youth Summit will again follow the next day. Those unable to attend are welcome to participate through the livestream, which can be found at marchforlife.ca
CLC is looking for donations to help support pro-life youth causes. The trip to Washington DC was subsidized by 50% thanks to the generous support from donors.
“We need to get to work,” said Roche. “Our humanity is not defined by where we live, or who we are, or nationality, or principality. Our value is derived from our humanity.”
READ: New documentary ‘Roe Canada’ looks to inspire pro-life victory in America’s northern neighbor