I took some photos as well from our March for Life. I couldn’t say how many people were there, but it was the biggest turnout we’ve ever had (and while we were there they announced that Ottawa’s was as big as ever as well, very nice to hear!).
The march started out in a very packed Centennial Square (city hall). I wish I had brought my wide angle lens with me to capture it better!
Walking down Government Street, the end in sight. It was a little more crowded than usual (well, for a Thursday) since at least one cruise ship was in port.
Arriving at the legislature lawn. We could not have asked for better weather. The forecast threatened thunderstorms, but we didn’t see a single raindrop and the temperature was perfect (strange, because it has been an unusually cold and rainy spring).
As far as I could tell, the orange sign there was the only anti-March for Life sign there. I wonder if anybody else around knew that one of the people holding the sign actually benefits financially from assisting in abortions.
Unfortunately I didn’t get any good photos of the speakers since I was at the very back of the crowd. You can view all the rest of my photos here though. Overall it was a very great, positive event. I went to the banquet afterward in the evening which was even better because I could hear the speakers (Rebecca Kiesling and Alex Schadenberg) better than at the rally, both of whom were inspirational and informational.








Unfortunately, your reporting is mistaken, and your goals are so beyond any reason that I feel I must comment. Not only was this casual observer loudly vocalising her opposing opinion, but in denying women the right to choose whether or not a cluster of cells should continue to deplete their body of nutrition and subsistence, you are ignoring the entire history of human beings as being capable of making the best decisions for their fertility and economic security. Women have always had means to “abort” (a term that only came into use in the 20th century) when they felt a “quickening” in the womb, and would often do so for the sake of their struggling, underfed families. When society (or religion, usually) deems abortive measures illegal, they are simply turning women who care about their body, family and health into criminals. If that is your goal, then I don’t understand how any woman can support your cause, let alone the number of smart women I see posting here. GROW UP, LADIES, live and let live…
All of my statements above are factual, unless you disagree with my opinion that sunshine and mildly warm is perfect weather.
“Live and let live”? I think explains our pro-life message well, especially the “let live” part!
Deborah:
Your inaccurate reporting comes from the fact that beyond a “sunny forecast,” there was at least one person displaying their difference of opinion during this march. One person may not seem like a lot, and you may not have seen this person, so perhaps you don’t see this as a failure of reporting, but for the few people who seemed angered by my vocal challenge of your perception, it may have been a significant moment. As far as your interpretation of my end comment, in all honesty it’s hard to argue with people who are “pro-life” because often the person not considered “pro-life” is thus (in a very black-and-white manner) labeled “pro-death”. What I am saying, obviously, is to live your own life as you see fit, and let other people live theirs the way they see fit. That you would misinterpret that to suit your agenda is both predictable and inappropriate, the hallmark characteristics of most “pro-life” groups.
“live your own life as you see fit, and let other people live theirs the way they see fit.” If it were only their own life, then that might not be such a problem. The issue is that they are making a decision regarding TWO lives, not merely their own.
Here in Ottawa, the most “common” anti-life sign or slogan tends to be….”don’t like abortion? Then don’t have one”. Even a child understands the holes in that argument. “Don’t like murder? Then don’t commit one”.
“Don’t like rape? Then don’t commit one”.
“Don’t like slavery? Then don’t own one”.
The idea that if you don’t like something, then just don’t do it but leave the rest of society alone to be able to “live as they see fit”…well, our laws tend to reflect that if someone else is being harmed by the action, we don’t allow you to just “live as you see fit”.
News flash. A successful abortion results in *someone else* being harmed by the action. So as a concerned citizen myself, I would prefer to not just stand by and let others “live as they see fit” where abortion is concerned.
Concerned citizen – the thing that always strike me as odd about women fighting for the right to abort is that they forget that they themselves were a cluster of cells in their mothers’ uterus. And yet, their mothers were gracious enough to allow them to stay there.
Being pro-choice is fighting for the right to do to someone else what was not done to you. Talk about gratitude!
I’m eternally grateful that my mother was pro-life.
Just a question to anyone saying they are pro-life…What is your religion and how dedicated to it are you? I have never once met an atheist that has been willing to say that women should not be allowed to have an abortion.
So you are basically taking a religious ideology and trying to force it upon non-believers.
Just saying…anyone with a clear head would see how horrible it is to do something like that.
I can see the Pro-Life people’s point of view, but what is so bad about leaving the option of abortion open to people that actually need it? For example, let’s say a young girl, under 18, was raped and she didn’t have the option of abortion? What if she is from a low-income family? How would she, and or the family, be able to take proper care of an infant? There is the option of giving the infant away to child services to be placed in a foster home. The thing about that is most people that I know who have been put into foster homes have had a rough time and have lasting phycological problems.
The way I see it is; Leave the option of abortion open for the people who actually need it and not ban abortion all together.
@CC2: I’m not religious (raised with fake Catholics, left it all behind a long time ago). And I’m not saying women shouldn’t be allowed to have an abortion. What I do say is that women shouldn’t have abortions. More or less the same way most people now wouldn’t think of smoking cigarettes. I want to live in a world where most women wouldn’t think of aborting a surprise pregnancy.
So there. Now you’ve met one.
I feel strongly about how fair it is to an unborn life form to be denied a say.
I however feel even more strongly about people telling anyone what they MUST do with their bodies.
I was born unintentionally myself and my mother opted not to abort so I’m clearly not biased.
I would feel very ill if pro-life was ever successful in taking away the rights a woman has with her body, and I think I would risk pretty much anything to defend those rights. Many I know agree.
I wasn’t going to post…was kind of disgusted that something like this went down in Victoria….
Kristina Johansson
“Concerned citizen – the thing that always strike me as odd about women fighting for the right to abort is that they forget that they themselves were a cluster of cells in their mothers’ uterus. And yet, their mothers were gracious enough to allow them to stay there.
Being pro-choice is fighting for the right to do to someone else what was not done to you. Talk about gratitude!
I’m eternally grateful that my mother was pro-life.”
I’m sorry Kristina, but your post is RIDICULOUS…your saying that if your mother supported the idea of women having the choice to choose if they want abortions would simply mean the fact that your mother would have aborted you??…seems a little off…My mother supports freedom of choice…but yet…I’m here….weird…
I think you have people who argue with your points of view, for some reason, labeled as “pro death” which just isn’t the case at all…I don’t believe in the death penalty or violence at all, but I belive women should be able to have control of their bodies…
Lets go to the harshest example…a woman is raped…she gets pregnant from that rape…you believe she shouldn’t have the choice to abort something that shouldn’t have been there?
Sorry for the rant, but I am sickened to say that it looks like either alot of Americans are migrating this way, or we’re slowly turning into the states…sad
the arguments you are making to attempt to refute my evidence are ridiculous at best.
Cynthia M., you said: “A successful abortion results in *someone else* being harmed by the action. So as a concerned citizen myself, I would prefer to not just stand by and let others “live as they see fit” where abortion is concerned.” –> again, a fetus is not considered a life, scientifically or historically, until quickening, or MOVEMENT, in the womb. personally, i don’t consider a fetus any more a life capable of making decisions any more than i consider a rock an animate object (which i do, a bit, if that shows you how ludicrous i feel your argument is). the only person being harmed by the action of an abortion, and i speak with experience, is the woman carrying the parasite, and perhaps also the man who inseminated her. there are indeed emotional and physical wounds which come as a result, but they are NOT harmful to the unintelligent cluster of cells being removed.
further, recent studies have shown that more than half of women who receive abortions in canada are already mothers, most struggling in this wild economy to raise the child or children they already have. to wish to demonize, and further oppress, women who have to make a difficult decision with lifelong ramifications, is fairly heinous of you. to wish to remove the option that more than half of women STILL deem necessary for the well-being of their family is ill-informed, reckless and deadly.
Kristiana Johansson, you said: “the thing that always strike(s) me as odd about women fighting for the right to abort is that they forget that they themselves were a cluster of cells in their mothers’ uterus. And yet, their mothers were gracious enough to allow them to stay there. … Talk about gratitude!” –> well, obviously our mothers were not all pro-life assbags who were dominated by their patriarchal religion. my mother, as with most women who choose to have kids, did/do so because it was/is the RIGHT TIME FOR THEM. i think one of the greatest gifts i have given her was to NOT have a child when i was too young to know what to do, or how to raise it – one of the greatest gifts she has given me was an open mind and access to contraceptives. she’s perfectly happy NOT being a grandma yet, thanks, and knows fully well how grateful i am for what she has given to me. your generalizations are grossly opinionated, and show your upbringing; even if you hadn’t said it, i would have figured your mother to be pro-life as well.
on a similar note, it saddens me to see parents out on the streets with their kids in the face of this issue, they way they were at your “walk for life”. not only are photos of dead fetuses insanely frightening for young people, but also, the topic is entirely too complex for them to fully understand. children of pro-lifers end up believing what their parents believed because it was made simple for them as a child, even though it is an issue that affects each individual differently.
and this of course leads us to the BIG EXISTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH ABORTION! and that is that when there are differing opinions as to the point at which life is considered new and sacred, and when those opinions are directly related to one’s religious beliefs, or lack thereof, it becomes very difficult to reconcile the opposing factions. beliefs, faith itself, are constructs of the mind, they shape WHO WE THINK WE ARE and how we fit into this world; to be shown something that proves our beliefs wrong calls into question our entire existence. when i give you evidence of women always performing abortions through the help of midwives and sisters, historically always knowing what herbs and methods to use to “restore the menses,” and you disregard it because in YOUR eyes, it’s killing an innocent, how am i supposed to have a rational discussion with you? it’s like talking to a television-brainwashed-American about the death of Osama bin Laden – no rationality whatsoever. again i am going to reference Leslie J. Reagan’s “When Abortion Was A Crime,” a book a did a study on in fourth year uni – her material gives a huge range of perspectives, and truly did educate me as to the implications of the criminalization of abortion. (you can purchase it here – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0520088484/theatlanticmonthA/ )
also, remember when i said to GET A LIFE?
i didn’t mean that as some pun on criminalizing abortion. i meant to start enjoying your own lives, and maybe then you won’t need to put so much effort into ruining others’.
Concerned citizen – why are you so rude to me? And why are you making such claims about my upbringing? And why would you use a word like “asshat”? Why can’t you debate this in a polite manner?
What I meant with my comment was this: Each and every one of us has been a fetus. Pro-choice people keep devaluing fetuses, say they are not fully human, just a blob of tisue etc etc. And yet, we’ve all been there and if we hadn’t been allowed to gestate we would be dead. So to be pro-life is to “do unto others.”
Now, if you don’t value a fetus/embryo I actually respect that belief. I have very good and dear friends who are pro-choice, including one who has had an abortion.
But please understand that pro-lifers cannot “Get over” their empathy for the unborn or their inherent squeamishness on abortion. It’s like asking an animal rights advocate to turn their gaze away from the slaughter house and let the meat industry go on.
and this of course leads us to the BIG EXISTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH ABORTION! and that is that when there are differing opinions as to the point at which life is considered new and sacred, and when those opinions are directly related to one’s religious beliefs, or lack thereof, it becomes very difficult to reconcile the opposing faction
I agree! Here’s the problem: What if I am of the strongly held conviction that valuable human life, AKA personhood, begins when an infant is a month old (as Peter Singer thinks)? Should the law value my choice to end that life? I was at a Viking exhibit last summer and one of the things the guide said was that in that society, children weren’t considered persons until they were five years old because child mortality was so high. According to their beliefs, they were right.
Many other atheists believe that the fetus should be legally protected after it has developed a nervous system. Pro-lifers believe the existance of human DNA is enough. My country’s abortion law strictly follows viability, which changes as technology improves. Your country has as you know no formal limits on abortion at all.
They all can’t be right.
Have a good night.