By Brian Jenkins (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: Augustin Hamilton

As usual, I arrived at the vigil site at around 7h30. No sooner had I arrived than a first visitor arrived. Laurence is homeless and currently sleeping in one of Montreal's shelters for the homeless. She described it as very rough, with limited services. She said that the rules are not being enforced, and that men and women weren't respecting the zones set aside for them respectively. Some of her belongings have gone missing, and although meals are prepared, she believes she has had a bout of diarrhea as a result. She does not feel safe. She wants to get out. I offered her bottled water and a few dollars, and she left to find a better shelter. Jasper arrived soon after. He took over from me the care of the vigil this past September when I had left to do one in Sherbrooke. Since my return, he has taken a break and this morning he is going to meet a friend at a local café. Then my prayer partner, Caterina arrived. We began our prayers, and during which I realized that I had not seen any of the familiar faces that I associate with the abortion centre. As we prayed, Caterina and I were interrupted by a loud and angry middle-aged woman. We first noticed her standing on the curb taking a picture of us with her mobile phone. Dear reader, be aware that there is a certain notoriety to being on the sidewalks of Montreal defending life. Before continuing on her way, this woman made a few comments about how inappropriate it was to pray for an end to abortion in front of a university. (The abortion facility is located across the street from the university.) She added that by our presence and the signs hung around our necks (“Pray for an end to abortion,” “Pregnant? Worried? 1-855-871-4442 We Can Help You,” and “Choose Life”) were manipulating the students. I attempted a reply but this lady quickly interrupted me, saying that she was not interested in what I had to say and stormed off. Caterina and I caught our breath after this brief encounter and resumed our prayers. Visitors, prayer, and confrontation, today’s vigil was a full one.

Vigil 365 is an activity of the Quebec Life Coalition since February 2020 in which prayer volunteers gather near an abortion facility to pray for an end to abortion. We chose to meet at the intersection of Berri and Ste Catherine streets because there were five abortuaries within a half-kilometre radius from that spot. (One of them has since moved to another location.) The activity takes place daily and lasts either ninety minutes or twelve hours depending on the time of year. Interested people are welcome to participate and can learn more by calling (438) 930-8643.

By Quebec Life Coalition - Photo: Théovox Actualités/YouTube

On the evening of Thursday, November 14th, Georges Buscemi, President of Campagne Québec-Vie / Quebec Life Coalition, appeared live on Théovox Actualités with Jean-François Denis to share his reflections on the trial challenging Quebec’s 50-meter buffer zones. This interview marked the conclusion of a week-long legal battle, during which Buscemi testified at the Superior Court of Quebec, advocating for the rights of pro-life advocates and women in crisis. The following account summarizes what Georges presented during this live interview, which can be viewed in its entirety (in French) here:

A Mission of Hope Versus Discrimination

Buscemi recounted how these bubble zones, introduced by a provincial law in 2016, prohibit pro-life advocates from offering compassionate support to women near abortion facilities. He emphasized that sidewalk counseling, which typically involves one or two individuals peacefully presenting alternatives to abortion, is meant to provide hope and practical solutions. He described how the law unfairly labels pro-life advocates as aggressors, turning their peaceful actions into prohibited activities.

“We offer help, we don’t impose it,” Buscemi explained during the interview. He stressed that their approach is rooted in respect and care, not intimidation. He also pointed out that existing laws, such as the Criminal Code of Canada, already address harassment and obstruction, rendering the bubble zones unnecessary.

Brian Jenkins.

By Brian Jenkins (Quebec Life Coalition)

Many blessings are being received at this fall’s prayer vigil for the end of abortion in Sherbrooke.

Since the vigil began this past Wednesday, September 25, a small yet devoted group of men and women have been maintaining a prayerful presence in this Eastern Township community, near the abortion facility located on Belvedere Street on the southern side of the city.

Particularly meritorious is the outreach that is being done. Outside the abortion facility’s operating hours, volunteers frequently gather a five-minute walk away at the busy intersection of Belvedere and Galt Streets to carry the pro-life message to the rush-hour commuters and weekend shoppers, and they are doing so with remarkable success.

For example, on one evening while in discussion with a local itinerant, I was approached by a young man who seemed genuinely sincere to understand how I can encourage others to pray for the end of abortion. (These are the words inscribed upon the sign that hangs around my neck.)

Parliament of Canada.

By Arpad Nagy (Quebec Life Coalition) - Photo: Arpad Nagy

Yesterday, for the first time ever, I attended the question period in the house of commons in Ottawa.

And what a day it was!

The Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, Hon. Marci Ien, tabled a motion in the house “that contains our plan to require more transparency from charities that use deceptive tactics to push women away from making their own reproductive decisions”. So in short, the liberals, with the help of the NDP and BLOC, are starting their all-out attack on pro-life pregnancy centres.

So many members of parliament from those parties spoke out today against pregnancy centres. So many pregnancy centres provide crucial services to pregnant women and to mothers! Women who receive counseling, financial aid, baby items such as diapers, clothes, food, toys, etc… and all of this free of charge!!! The push to shut down these extraordinary centres that help women who want to have their children is so uncomprehensible!

Jeff Gunnerson, president of Campaign Life Coalition took quick action and wrote a letter to Pierre Poilievre, urging him and the conservative caucus to oppose this motion. He writes: “This legislation is nothing more than evidence of a Liberal vendetta against pro-life organizations that offer women more choices other than abortion, such as adoption and parenting. (…) With this proposed legislation, the Liberal Party is once again reaffirming that it is not the party of ‘choice’ but the party of abortion as the only choice.”

By Brian Jenkins (Quebec Life Coalition) - Picture: L'Odyssée de la Vie/YouTube

Sunday morning, I arrived at the vigil location, my prayer partner Denis awaiting my arrival. We chatted and after making a few prayer intentions began a rosary.

Despite being a Sunday morning, the vigil location, the intersection of Berri and St. Catherine Streets, was not deserted. One group that is drawn to this spot are the rideshare travellers, men and woman who come here to meet drivers that will take them to Ottawa, Quebec City and elsewhere.

Today, one traveller caught my attention. A petite young woman, about twenty-five years old, arrived shortly after I did travel bags in hand. Alone, I was surprised how close she stood or walked around Denis and me. She moved around, at times in front of Denis and I, at other moments, behind us, always maintaining a close distance to us.

No eye contact had yet been made between the young lady and me, not until standing some fifteen feet away, she gestured impolitely with her hand towards me. I took this as a sign of an openness to exchange.

“What do you think about abortion?” I asked. So began an exchange lasting until her driver arrived and she got in and left.

Stuck is a one-stop shop when it comes to pro-life apologetics based on the human rights argument. It does not bring anything new to the table, but draws from already developed pro-life arguments by people such as Scott Klussendorf, Randy Alcorn and Stephanie Gray. The Canadian Centre for Bio-ethical Reform, or CCBR for short, has tested all of the arguments in this volume on the street in one-on-one conversations, and has found great success in swaying people’s mind on abortion. 

In this volume, the main argument presented is the human rights argument against abortion. Everything falls back to the simple idea that all members of the human family should have the same inherent dignity and basic rights. The importance of the human rights argument is that in our ever-increasing secular world, faith-based arguments are much less accepted by people than human right based arguments. Whatever your faith background, it is good to be able to reason with people with little understanding or skepticism about a spiritual reality.

Stuck is broken down into chapters that address the main topics in abortion apologetics:

—In the circumstances chapter, you’ll learn how to respond to the argument that the child is not wanted or that the mother is not ready.
—In the personhood chapter, you’ll examine why a pre-born child is as much a person as a born child. 
—It’s my body chapter will examine bodily autonomy, totally debunking the catchy slogan. 
—The hard cases chapters will look at how to respond to cases of incest, rape, and where the life of the mother is in danger.
—The abortion procedure chapter gives thorough explanations on the different abortion is being practised today.
—The perspectives chapter talks about being considerate to people’s situation and bringing the right approach. One method doesn’t fit all. 

A proven methodology presented in this book is the common ground, analogy, question method, and all apologetics arguments can fall back on this easy three-step method. 

Stuck will also suggest extra resources, give examples of dialogues, and prompt you to do activities. 

About the Author: Justina Van Manen started doing pro-life outreach at the age of 14 and then joined CCBR as a volunteer, and then as an intern. As a graduate from Redeemer University with a Bachelor in English, she has continued her work with CCBR as well as continued to work on her second university degree. She works for CCBR as a speaker and as communications director. Stuck came out in 2019, and can be found for sale on the CCBR website or on amazon (for a Kindle version). Justina’s 2nd book on embryo adoption came out in 2022.

By Georges Buscemi, president of Quebec Life Coalition
Translated by Quebec Life Coalition staff.

On April 26, a column by Elsie Lefebvre (former Parti Québécois MP and Montreal city councillor) appeared on the Journal de Montréal website, discussing an announcement by Martine Biron, Minister responsible for the Status of Women, that she would soon be launching a "consultation" to ensure that the "right to abortion" becomes enshrined in Quebec law. The title of the article: Abortion rights threatened, even here in Quebec.

Lefebvre reviews the more or less well-founded reasons for believing that the "right" to abortion is threatened in Quebec and Canada: "Trumpist" Pierre Poilièvre and pro-life MPs "emanating from the conservative religious right", as well as "pro-life volunteers who are slowly but surely weaving their web" and other boogeyman who “give her goosebumps”, are, according to Lefebvre, working together to weaken access to abortion.

We won't dwell on the hysterical aspect of the analysis (Trump! Pro-lifers weave their web! etc.). What is most annoying is the underhanded manipulation of the reader's mind by claiming, through a headline such as "Abortion Rights Threatened," that the assertion that abortion is a "right" is so obvious that it does not even need to be defended. But the opposite is true: it is obvious that abortion is not a right, that such a "right" cannot exist, and that if there exists today in Western societies permission to abort, or tolerance of the crime of abortion, it is because we have no respect for the right to life of the unborn class of humans. Moreover, if the current state of affairs is now threatened, that is very good news, because not only is abortion not a right, it is a blatant example of a human rights violation. But to understand this, we must first know what a "right" is.

Definition of "human rights"

Human rights are, according to Wikipedia (I'm quoting a source that is certainly not to the advantage of pro-lifers), "a philosophical, legal, and political concept, according to which every human being possesses universal, inalienable rights, regardless of positive law (existing law) or other local factors such as ethnicity, nationality, or religion." Basically, certain things are due to the innocent human person, such as life, speech, the right to associate, and this, regardless of one’s origin, size, beliefs. These rights can only be taken away or limited for serious reasons, such as in the case of a murderer who must be incarcerated for the protection of other citizens. This concept of human rights is incompatible, again according to Wikipedia, "with the idea that building a better society justifies the elimination or oppression of those who are supposed to stand in the way of the realization of that better society."

And this is the simple reason why abortion is a violation of human rights: in order to build a better world for one class of people — women — pro-abortionists claim that it is legitimate to sacrifice the lives of members of another class of people, the unborn. This goes against the very concept of an innate human right, a right that is possessed by virtue of man's humanity and has not been conferred upon him by a state or other human power. We do not have the right to kill the unborn, period, even if that killing might —in the view of the perpetrator, of course, and not the victim — seem to make our society "progress".

Now, here a pro-abortionist might try to take refuge in the nonsensical argument that the embryo is not "human" or "a person". I say "nonsensical" because there are only a few months and a little water and food between the embryo and the newborn baby it will become. Do we dare to claim that adding a little water to an embryo would have changed its nature, transformed it from the simple animal that it was, into a human being? Or worse: would an unborn child become human only after it has completely left the womb, as our delusional Canadian Criminal Code claims, as if the birth canal were endowed with magical powers that could transform a "cluster of cells" into a baby with human rights? The unborn child is therefore obviously a human being, from the moment of conception, regardless of the pro-abortionists who look for a pretext to eliminate it when it is advantageous to them.

Finally, and this is the sad reality, I believe that many pro-abortionists, if they claim to promote "human rights", do not really believe in them. Many of them have a purely material view of existence: all humans, not just babies, are just "clumps of cells" or piles of matter. Rights have no hold on heaps of matter, but only on human beings, endowed with immortal souls created directly by God. Basically, without a conception of the divine and the spiritual, everything becomes matter to be owned or thrown away, and human rights evaporate. All that remains is the will of the strongest at the expense of the weakest, which we see today manifested in many ways. It is up to us, believers in a God who created us and conferred rights and duties on us, to preserve this idea of human rights, even if many of our fellow citizens betray this ideal while praising it.

Augustin Hamilton’s Blog (Quebec Life Coalition)

Yesterday, February 16, 2023, Le Journal de Montréal published an article written by Héloïse Archambault, with the collaboration of Frédérique Giguère, reporting that a hospital felt "compelled to call the police because of aggressive anti-choice activists", essentially confirming that the baby, whom we have nicknamed "Daniel", had indeed been aborted.

This confirms, if it were necessary, that when we announced "Baby Daniel’s" forthcoming late abortion we were not spreading false news, whatever some people may think...

To take the case back to its beginning, before addressing Archambault's article, let's first look at the chronology of events as we have learned it.

On the morning of February 1, 2023, a whistleblower contacted a pro-life organization other than ours, via social networks, to communicate her dismay. She was aware of an exceptional medical staff meeting at Montreal’s Sacré-Coeur Hospital on how to perform an abortion at 38 weeks of pregnancy the next morning.

See: Pro-life organization and Montreal doctor call for challenge to abortion status quo following reports of lethal injection of unborn child at 38 weeks of pregnancy

Faced with the revelation that this barbaric, disgusting act would take place at 38 weeks, we sent an email to our subscribers the same day, asking them to pray that the abortion would not take place, that a baby would be saved.

Later that day, a pro-life Montrealer, Marie-Josée Rivest, contacted us: she had called Sacré-Coeur Hospital and an employee of the institution had confirmed to her that this late-term abortion was really going to take place the next day. Note also that about 100 people responded to our email, but other than Mrs. Rivest, no one informed us as to whether they had contacted the hospital in any way.

The following day, February 2, 2023, our first source informed us that the abortion had taken place as planned.

At noon on Friday, February 10, 2023, Quebec Life Coalition held a press conference at the corner of Fréchette Street and Gouin Boulevard West, not far from Sacré-Coeur Hospital. Note that the rally took place more than 50 meters from the hospital, in order to comply with the exclusion zone imposed by law 92 around places performing abortions.

Click here to view the press conference.

By Joanne of Arc for Quebec Life Coalition - Photo: Joanne of Arc

This fall, hundreds of communities across North America and several Canadian cities simultaneously organized a 40 Days for Life campaign from September 28 to November 6, 2022.

The 40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life effort that consists of:

• 40 days of prayer and fasting to end abortion
• 40 days of peaceful vigil
• 40 days of community awareness

I was present in Sherbrooke on the 31st day to report on this event. Brian Jenkins, who is the leader of the team, was on place to give me a warm welcome. This man spends 12 hours a day outside, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. during the 40 days, as an advocate for life. He takes a break at noon, during which Mr. Gerard replaces him, for the entire length of the 40-day vigil. The vigil participants vary from day to day, but Brian and Gerard are present daily.

By law, Brian and the other participants must not be within 50 meters of a facility where abortions take place, in this case the CLSC Belvédère (Local Community Services Center). So far, there have been no counter-demonstrators, whereas last year a pro-choice group of 100 people gathered against 3-4 people who were doing the vigil. Gerard shares with me that the Sherbrooke police supported the vigil participants last year, and since then they have been supported by the Sherbrooke authorities. Brian has a working relationship with the police of Sherbrooke and can count on them for their help to maintain their safety.

CLSC Belvédère in Sherbrooke - Photo: Joanne of Arc

In 2001, drug trials for the abortion inducing drug RU-486 was halted after protests and the death of a woman from septic shock.

Renewed efforts to make this drug available in Canada began this past November. At this time, the Canadian Medical Association Journal featured an article critical of the lack of surgical abortion facilities in rural Canada, a slight that can be alleviated via chemical abortions such as RU-486.

Then Society of Family Planning chimed in, announcing that based on a 2012 survey, increasing availability to chemical abortions would save women from travelling and from undergoing surgical abortions, and would increase accessibility to abortion services.

Yesterday, the Journal de Montréal, in two separate features, sung a similar tune. Isabelle Maher and Lise Ravary argued separately that since this abortifacient is available in well over 60 countries, why then is it not available in Canada?

What these articles fail to note is the harm that RU-486 has had on women. According to the Campaign Life Coalition, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) reports that there have been 14 deaths associated with this drug. Further, the FDA notes that there have been 2000 cases of adverse side effects including hospitalization, significant blood loss, severe infection and blood transfusions.

Corroborating much of this information about RU-486 is a fact sheet published by the group Real Choices Australia. Based on a Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists study, the fact sheet notes the extent of excessive bleeding, the pain, and other adverse effects after using this abortifacient.

Let's pray that Health Canada does not give in to this new wave of pressure, but rather contributes to ensuring the health integrity of women.

p.s. See a couple of recent stories on this topic. First, the National Post published a letter by Mike Schouten entitled "Another skipped abortion debate." Also, the CBC reports that Health Canada will delay its decision until the Fall 2015 as additional information is sought from the manufacturer - "Abortion drug decision pushed back by Health Canada."