What would a 200-kilometer walk (124 miles) from Montreal to the Supreme Court in Ottawa by 25 Canadian women accomplish? Back to Life Canada hopes to provide awareness of abortion harassment. Studies show that up to 64% of Canadian women felt they were pressured into having that abortion.
Back to Life Canada states a threefold purpose to this walk. The first is to give women back their voices. Too many times, women are forced into “choosing” an abortion. That was walker Ashley Williams’s story. According to a Back to Life Canada press release:
“I was pressured into abortion when my baby was 5 months old. I could already feel it moving,” explains walker Ashley Williams, “my boyfriend told me I was going to do it. I honestly felt trapped. It was like my voice on the issue didn’t matter to him.” Ironically, while she was on the abortion table he had a change of heart and tried to stop the procedure. Her boyfriend was resisted by medical staff who told him he had no right to interfere with her “choice”. Ashley woke up on the other side of the abortion, devastated.
The second purpose is to provide awareness to Canadians that their nation has been without abortion laws for 25 years. There is nothing to stop an abortion from being performed up to the time of birth. According to Back to Life Canada, the only three nations without abortion laws are China, North Korea, and Canada. Furthermore, Canadian abortions are funded by taxpayer dollars.
The third purpose is for all these twenty-five women to embark on a personal journey. Each woman has a reason for being on the journey, be it being pressured into an abortion, being pressured but being strong enough to say no, or having relatives who were pressured into abortions.
The team started their journey in Montreal on April 28, 2013 and arrived in Ottawa on May 9, 2013. Once the team arrived in Ottowa, they were able to meet with members of Parliament, and some team members shared their stories at a press conference. The 25 women who walked with Back to Life then joined approximately 20,000 pro-life supporters for Canada’s March for Life on Thursday.
You can check out other videos from the 200-kilometer journey here and read the reasons why each woman joined the team here.
