This fall, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island will see an influx of pro-life visitors. The annual LifeCanada conference, titled “Lighting the Way,” is being hosted by Prince Edward Island Right to Life from Oct. 24-26. According to Ann Marie Tomlins, president of PEI Right to Life, the last national pro-life conference held in Atlantic Canada was five years ago, in Moncton, N.B., and the last major pro-life conference on the Island was in 1997.
Featured speakers include Dr. Deborah Zeni, Angelina Steenstra of Silent No More Awareness Canada, KC McLean and Pearl Palmer, Andrea Mrozek, Dr. Robert Walley of MaterCare International, Natalie Hudson Sonnen of LifeCanada, pro-life Irish politician Dana Scallon, Alissa Golob of Campaign Life Coalition Youth, Rebecca Richmond of the National Campus Life Network, Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, Peter Ryan of New Brunswick Right to Life, Faye Sonier of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth.
One of the featured speakers at the conference, Zeni, is a physician and senior researcher with the deVeber Institute for for Bioethics and Social Research. Her talk will focus on women’s health after abortion, an issue she has been passionate about since Canada’s federal abortion law was struck down in 1988. “At that time, abortion was being promoted as a therapeutic approach to unplanned pregnancies,” she told The Interim. “Twenty-five years later, I still don’t believe there is evidence that abortion is a health benefit.” She and Canadian Physicians for Life would browse medical libraries in universities, looking for key words in literature that would support their intuitions. This process took “months, even years” but eventually paid off. The group of doctors realized the ethical dilemma they were facing. Pregnancy has complications, including several that are life-threatening. Zeni said that she is disappointed “the medical establishment is acquiescing” in abortion because it is a procedure that has “no benefit for the baby or mother.”
Zeni and her colleagues emphasize “concern, compassion, and making responsible decisions.” She said it is “very important” to raise awareness of the long-term mental and physical health problems which are possible after induced abortion. A ripple effect can occur, impacting marital and parent-child relationships. “If people are aware, I hope that medical practitioners will think the decision to refer for abortion through and provide informed consent,” she explained.
Zeni said she also wants to promote “compassion for women who’ve had abortions and the suffering they go through,” so that more people are “willing to be helpers rather than being judgemental.” Working in the medical community gives her “the privilege of entering into a person’s suffering,” whether that follows an induced abortion or continued pregnancy. Those examining life issues from other angles “don’t have (women) sitting in their office – don’t experience the helplessness, loss, sadness, or anxiety” along with them.
Tomlins told The Interim that the “Lighting the Way” theme was a reference to the province’s role-model status: no abortions are carried out there. However, like the rest of the country, Prince Edward Island pays for the procedure using residents’ tax dollars, by funding a portion of abortions carried out in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. Approximately 150 women leave the Island for abortions annually.
Tomlins expects the majority of conference participants to come from eastern Canada, although she also anticipates there will be a few from Ontario and other provinces. Many tourist attractions will be closed for the season, but the area is still home to vibrant shops, restaurants, arts events and coastal scenery.