Two British Columbia pro-life supporters used a novel approach to protest against abortion Dec. 28 outside the Every Woman’s Health Clinic in Vancouver.

Lane Walker and Jennifer Ziemann, members of the Seamless Garment Network Canada, were arrested for violating the provincial “bubble-zone” law which restricts pro-life demonstrations.

But their arrest did not come before the pair had made an effective, 16-hour witness to life. They set up a mock daycare centre in front of the clinic to encourage care and nurturing of children, rather than abortion. They used toys and children’s clothing as part of their protest.

In a statement released prior to the demonstration, Walker and Ziemann said governments should allocate funding to daycare centres rather than abortion facilities. They said abortion is akin to a “political slaughter” of children and that government social policy amounts to abandonment of women and children.

Their protest coincided with the Dec. 28 Feast of the Holy Innocents, a day many Catholic dioceses use to pay tribute to pro-life workers.

According to a report in the Vancouver Sun, Walker and Ziemann have been arrested three times in the past two years for similar demonstrations.

Both apparently refused to sign an order to stay away from the Vancouver abortion mill.

The Seamless Garment Network was established in the U.S. to protest against abortion and work for a renewed respect for human life. The name was chosen to express the notion of human life as a “seamless garment” or continuum, requiring protection from conception to natural death.

“We are committed to the protection of life, which is threatened in today’s world by war and the arms race, abortion, poverty, racism, capital punishment and euthanasia,” reads a statement by the Canadian branch of the network.

“We believe these issues are linked under a ‘consistent life ethic.’ We challenge those working on all or some of these issues to maintain a co-operative spirit of peace, reconciliation and respect in protecting the unprotected.”

The Seamless Garment Network claims to represent 180 organizations supporting life, peace and justice.
Their supporters take the widest possible understanding of “pro-life,” including opposition to the death penalty.