Great list of “Five Canadian pro-life activists who need to write their memoirs,” by Suzanne Fortin of Big Blue Wave: Fr. Alphone de Valk, Gwen Landolt, John-Henry Westen, Steve Jalsevac, and Jim Hughes. Agreed on all of them and would add a sixth: Dr. Barrie de Veber, a medical doctor who helped create one of the first two pro-life groups in Canada, founded the de Veber Institute for Bioethics and Social Research, and helped set up the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition. In fact, Dr. de Veber’s activism goes back to before the passing of the Omnibus Bill in 1967. There are indeed many others whose stories should be recorded for posterity, some of whom have sadly passed away: Heather Stilwell and Ken Campbell come to mind.
Unfortunately, they are too busy fighting to turn around the culture, restoring legal protection for the unborn, and battling euthanasia to sit down and write a book about themselves. However, Fortin responds: “Writing memoirs is fighting for life.” With so many things to do, these pro-life leaders must prioritize.
Still, it is a great idea and it is something we have been discussing at The Interim. We are hoping to launch a project to fill this void, if not with published memoirs, something to capture a record their “institutional memory” of the movement and battles gone by.
