Josie Luetke:
Interim writer, Josie Luetke, Talk Turkey
Ahead of the National March for Life, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition executive director Alex Schadenberg and I gave a joint webinar on euthanasia and abortion. Attendees, hearing about how Canada has been without any restriction on abortion for over three decades and how Bill C-7 has transformed our euthanasia regime from bad to worse, were understandably left discouraged. One asked what the pro-life movement was doing wrong.
Incontestably, we need to ask that question, undertake the humbling process of self-reflection, and seek to improve. As I’ve said before though, Canada’s moral deterioration is not the fault of the pro-life movement. Actually, we’ve been instrumental in slowing this decline, and even if we had done everything right, we may not necessarily have been able to prevent it.
I can be confident in asserting that, because we have an example of a perfect teacher: Jesus Christ. He said and did everything right, and yet the Truth He shared was still rejected by most. Indeed, they crucified Him for it.
Bill C-233’s failure to pass was also discouraging for some who wonder, “What’s the point?” If 84 per cent of Canadians want sex-selective abortion criminalized, but only 24 per cent of MPs vote to do so, how can we possibly bridge that divide, inject the desperately required infusion of political willpower?
We have much reason to celebrate Bill C-233. It exposed the positions of MPs, some of which were previously unknown to us, and brought a discussion of abortion into the House of Commons. The worst thing for the pro-life movement is silence. Every conversation on this topic is a victory against apathy, because even if all parties walk away resolutely indifferent or pro-choice, that’s a conscious decision on their part now. The more often they talk about it, the more chances they have to learn the Truth and convert.
Still, on face value, Bill C-233 did not accomplish what it purportedly intended. None of the many pro-life bills put forward on the federal level have achieved any sort of legal protection for the preborn.
Naturally, some pro-lifers take this fact as an excuse to give up on the political process completely, to become convinced that a wholly different approach is needed. Some give up all together.
And this is where it’s imperative to keep in mind the words of Mother Teresa: “We are not called to be successful, but faithful.”
Gandhi said something similar: “It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
Once more: Outcomes aren’t in our hands. The entirety of our responsibility lies in the trying—to try again and again even if we “fail” over and over.
Some pro-life groups have become obsessed with measuring and tracking results to assess effectiveness, as any business would do, and I see the value in that but I have to raise the possibility that God might call us to do something that doesn’t immediately seem effective. That’s faith—believing He has a plan even if we can’t see it ourselves.
Again, we should re-evaluate our methods on an ongoing basis, and while other metrics might be useful proxies, the ultimate metric by which we should judge our actions is the somewhat obscure assessment of how well we’re carrying out God’s will.
When I was a Grade 11 student, I described to my local right-to-life group, Halton Alive (then Halton Pro-Life), how a recent visit to the Dachau concentration camp informed my dream for Canada: “Where every abortion clinic is now, I envision plaques: plaques commemorating the innocent victims, plaques describing the horror that occurred, plaques promising ‘never again.’ I envision textbook sections on the tragedy of abortion and class field trips to former abortion clinics, where tour guides will escort a bunch of disbelieving students around the place and will point out the tools of an abortionist.”
I have to accept the possibility that this vision won’t be realized in my lifetime. Even if we never reap any of the rewards, however, the striving is rewarding enough, and the smaller victories—the delay of the legalization of euthanasia, the tabling of and debate on a pro-life bill—are sweet too.
Do not despair, but be grateful. We’re not called to end abortion or euthanasia. We’re called to try to end abortion and euthanasia.
