Cracking The Abortion Consensus: Changing Hearts and Minds With The New Abortion Caravan Part III

Nicholas McLeod, June 6, 2012

I was talking to a woman in Edmonton and she said that she was pro-choice. I stated that all we wanted was for this child to be treated like you and me and for the same laws that protected her and me to protect that child as well.  She said that I was right and then thanked me for being there.

Maaike Rosendal, June 9, 2012

While in Regina, I spoke with a young woman who was opposed to abortion with the exception of pregnancies resulting from rape. Needless to say, she also wouldn’t impose her beliefs upon anyone else, not upon her friend scheduled for an abortion next week either. I pointed to my own baby and asked whether she would have the responsibility to take action if I was planning to kill him next week. “Of course,” she exclaimed. “That would be terrible.” Pointing to a picture of a first-trimester aborted fetus I gently asked, “Do you think it’s any different with your friend’s child who, if you don’t do anything, will soon look like that?” Instantly aware of her responsibility she asked for pamphlets and contact information for her friend so perhaps, because pro-lifers showed her the ugly truth, a small child will live. Many others have certainly survived for that very reason.

“You’re making me feel bad,” another young woman said, during the same “Choice” Chain. “I went along with two of my friends when they had their abortions because I wanted to support their choice. One of them was my brother’s girlfriend too.” I expressed my sympathy. “I’m so sorry to hear that. I didn’t come here to make you feel bad, yet I’m glad you now know what happened during the abortion. The truth often hurts but also sets free.” I offered her information about post-abortion help, which she eagerly accepted, then looked at the pictures again. “That would’ve been my niece or nephew, but I didn’t know.” She hadn’t known that supporting such a choice allowed two babies to be decapitated, dismembered and disemboweled. Had she seen the pictures a few weeks or months earlier, this young woman would have done everything in her power to prevent the abortions from taking place, which shows the urgency of our work. She now knows the truth because a graphic image of abortion conveyed just that. And like many others, she received the good news that there is help and healing.

Jojo Ruba, June 17, 2012

I was doing “Choice” chain in Winnipeg when a young Aboriginal woman came up to Anita and I asked if she could take a picture of our signs. After taking several pictures, she began to tear up and walked away. Anita ran after her and began to console her. She said her family forced her to have an abortion when she was really young and that was the only baby she could ever have because she was now infertile. Anita gave her a card and began to minister to her.

Jojo Ruba, June 17, 2012

A man came up to argue that women have a right to choose. I agreed with him and told him that this was not about choice but what is chosen – about who is being killed. Though he didn’t agree with me that abortion was wrong, he admitted that I was right, abortion killed something and that the main issue was not about choice. Though he was mad that we were there at first, he said he was glad to talk to me.

Jojo Ruba, June 20, 2012

I was doing “Choice” Chain in Sudbury when a man came up to me and told me that he had seen a truck with a similar image as my sign. He said his girlfriend was planning to have an abortion next week. I asked him if he could show our pamphlet to her before the abortion and he said “Yes, I’ll show her the pamphlet for sure.”

Jojo Ruba, June 20, 2012

I was doing “Choice” Chain in Sudbury when a woman with a small child came up to Anita and said she too regretted her abortion. It was the worst decision she made and she was glad we were there to help people. Anita talked to her and gave her information from Silent No More Awareness.

Cam Côté, June 21, 2012

While doing “Choice” Chain in Brampton, Ontario, I asked an older fellow what he thought about abortion. He told me that he had never thought about it. I let him stare at the sign I was holding for a couple of moments, before asking him, “If you knew this was happening 100,000 times every year in Canada, would you think about it a little more?” We proceeded to have a short conversation, and he left saying, “This needs to stop.”

Cam Côté, June 21, 2012

I spoke to an older gentleman, his college-aged daughter, and his high-school aged son while doing “Choice” Chain in Brampton, Ontario, and they initially told me that they were opposed to abortion because of their family values, but that they thought other people should be allowed to have abortions if they are faced with difficult circumstances such as poverty. I asked if we could kill the children in Africa who may tragically die from poverty and starvation, and the daughter said, “You make a very good argument.” After talking through a couple more circumstances the father exclaimed, “You win, you win, you’re right, you’re right.” They acknowledged that all abortions are wrong, and they were disappointed that they had a previous engagement that prevented them from coming to our evening presentation.

Maaike Rosendal, June 21, 2012

“I’ve been a nurse for many years and I know how much people can suffer. While I agree with your cause, there should always be room for exceptions.” This is how the conversation started. A middle-aged woman and her teenage daughter had walked by our “Choice” Chain, and that was her answer to my question what she thought about abortion. Anita Sonntag from Silent No More Awareness stood beside me and engaged the girl in conversation. Her mom told me that being forced to carry a pregnancy to term when you can’t would “Put someone over the edge; it will make women go mental.” I expressed my appreciation for the fact that she cares about women’s well-being. “It sounds like we have common ground but we disagree about the solution to people’s problems.” I questioned whether an abortion would really help a woman in distress; Anita’s testimony and that of many others certainly shows the opposite. But even if would, I asked, shouldn’t we value a person’s life more than another person’s sanity? She disagreed with me so I pointed to my son Elliot. “What if I couldn’t handle taking care of him? Should I be allowed to drown him in the bath tub to maintain my sanity?” Of course, she said no. We then spoke about the value of human life from the very moment that sperm and egg fuse, and how we can call ourselves pro-life, yet not value the pre-born as much as the born. Still, she seemed to have difficulty agreeing that abortion is always wrong. At this point her daughter walked over and overheard her mom bringing up a woman’s mental health again. “Mom, you can always place a child for adoption.” Surprised by her daughter response she paused for a very long time, then looked at me and said, “You’re right. It’s difficult for me to admit but there really is no reason for abortion ever. And my daughter’s right too. Adoption is much better than abortion. Thanks so much for talking to us!”

Cam Côté, June 21^st, 2012

I spoke to a young man at “Choice” Chain in Brampton, Ontario, who initially identified as pro-choice, saying "Abortion shouldn’t be birth control, but if the woman needs it she should be able to get it." We talked for quite a while about different circumstances that he thought would justify abortion, and we finally got to the point where he said, “Yes, all abortions are wrong, but our world needs it and that will never change.” We proceeded to talk about how similar sentiments were said to William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King Jr. during their years of trying to end injustices that violated basic human rights, and he left saying, “Good luck buddy, I hope you can stop this from happening.”

Jojo Ruba, June 21, 2012

I was doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto when a visibly pregnant woman came up to me and asked, “How can I do what you guys are doing?” She explained her sister got an abortion when she was 4 months pregnant and she “can’t do that.” I invited her to join us for the talk in Toronto next week.

Jojo Ruba, June 21, 2012

I was doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto when I met an anesthesiologist who told me he works at a clinic that sometimes anesthetizes pregnant women who will get abortions, even though he was pro-life. I told him to exercise his right not to help with the surgery, saying that even if it was a small thing, small things add up. He said “you are right, little things help make a big difference.”

Cam Côté, June 21, 2012

While doing “Choice” Chain in Brampton, Ontario, I spoke to a man who thought our efforts were futile. He said “I’m against abortion, but with the guys we’ve got in parliament things are never going to change.” I explained how our end the killing plan is meant to change public opinion so that the men and women in parliament had no choice but to change public policy. I explained to him that as much as I would like a law protecting the lives of the pre-born, I would rather have a situation in which nobody was having abortions but it was still legal than a situation in which abortion was made illegal but people were still having them. He told me that he respected my efforts, but that what we were doing wasn’t changing any minds and it wasn’t saving lives. Just then my colleague Francisco Gomez walked by, and I asked him to tell the story of baby Adrian, a baby saved by “Choice” Chain. I then told him about the many conversations that I had had in the past in which people did change their minds, and I challenged him: “Whether the politicians do anything or not, are you willing to do something to end the killing?” He said that he would if he could, and left saying that he would try to do whatever he could to help people understand what abortion does to pre-born children.

Lauren Kyfiuk, June 21, 2012

I was post carding in Brampton and I walked up to a woman in her driveway and asked her if she knew about abortion. After looking at the postcard she looked up and me and said “Yes, I do.” I asked her if she was doing anything to end the killing and she said, “No, but what can I do?” I told her about some of her options including how she can write a letter to her MP or go online and donate to our lifesaving efforts. Then she smiled as she shook my hand and said, “Ok, thank you so much, I will do that.”

Maaike Rosendal, June 22, 2012

During “Choice” Chain in Hamilton I spoke with a Chinese immigrant woman who introduced herself as Aurora. She commented that, in her country, women are forced to have abortions so I asked her what she thought about that. Aurora felt that if they had no other choice or were too poor to provide for a child it would be better anyway. I explained that like China, Canada also allows abortion all nine months of pregnancy and asked if that is okay here. In her opinion, this is a necessary evil, something that should be allowed. I then asked, “Shouldn’t we alleviate suffering and fight against laws that require women to have abortions, rather than solve problems by killing people?” She nodded. After I walked her through the pamphlet Aurora said, “You’re right, it’s always wrong.” When I asked her what changed her mind she responded, “The pictures and what you said. It all makes sense.”

A young man walked by our display in Hamilton. When I asked what he thought about abortion, his passionate response was, “Abortion is always wrong. It’s never right to kill another person.” I agreed and asked for his reasons for believing this. He said, “You can’t just get rid of it because you don’t want it. It’s alive right from the beginning. I just don’t know how to explain that to my ex.” He seemed frustrated so I inquired further. “Is that something you guys have been talking about?” As it turned out, his fiancée had just ended their relationship but thought she was pregnant. While she wants an abortion, the young man would like to parent the child but is having a difficult time convincing her. We talked for a while and at the end he said, “Thanks so much. Now I know how to talk to her. I’m gonna ask why she wants an abortion but I’m also gonna show her the pictures. That has got to change her mind!”

Lauren Kyfiuk, June 22, 2012

I was out post carding in Toronto when I approached a man who was standing close to the door of his house. I handed him a postcard and asked him if he knew 100,000 children were killed every year by abortion. He said no. I asked him if he was doing anything to end the killing. Eyes fixed on the picture on the postcard he said “No, what can I do?” I told him about some of his options- how he can donate online, write a letter to his MP or get involved in pro-life projects.

Afterwards he said, "Thank you for stopping to talk to me because I knew abortion was happening, but you just don't hear about it like this. The way you present this information- I know now [what abortion really is], and I agree with you." He also told me that he would write a letter to his MP about the issue.

Maaike Rosendal, June 22, 2012

An older gentleman asked what we were doing so I explained our goal of raising awareness about what abortion does to pre-born children so that they will no longer want to support or have one. He was excited about this and called himself pro-life. I followed up with my usual response, “That’s wonderful! So… do you think abortion is wrong in all cases?” to which I received an all too common answer, “I do, except for in case of rape.” While pointing to the abortion images, I asked what the difference is between a child conceived in violence and a child conceived in love. He was quiet for some time. I then questioned whether the fact that something terrible happens to us gives us the right to inflict violence upon someone else. He started nodding. After a lengthy silence he said, “I’ve always been pro-life with that one exception but now I realize no reason is good enough to kill a baby. Thanks for opening my eyes!”

Anna Ott, June 22, 2012

We were doing “Choice” Chain downtown Toronto. A woman walked by, saw our signs and turned away immediately. When I asked her what she thought about abortion she remained looking away and said in a fragile voice “Please, don’t!” She was waiting to cross the street for about 30 seconds and finally stepped towards me and asked “Can I tell you a story? I had an abortion 35 years ago and I still regret it. It still hurts every day!”  Anita, our support from Silent No More was standing next to me, heard her talking to me and turned towards us. She told the woman about her experiences with her abortion and how she found forgiveness. The woman was overwhelmed. She had to keep going but took one of the SilentNoMore contact cards and said she is going to contact them for help.

Maaike Rosendal, June 23, 2012

During “Choice” Chain in Hamilton I walked up to a teenager who thought abortion should be permitted up to about four months for girls or women who “really need it, maybe up to four months.” I pointed to the signs and asked what he thought about that then. His response was one of immediate disgust. “I can’t look at that. That’s horrible!” Agreeing with him I said, “The sad thing is that is what happens to pre-born children every day.” He responded, “But that’s an early one too… I didn’t know that’s what it looks like!” He then went on to tell me about his friend from Costa Rica who is one month pregnant and wants an abortion. I sympathized with her difficult situation and said that any of us would do whatever it takes to help her. Then his phone rang. “That’s her,” he exclaimed, “and I’m going to meet her for coffee right now!” He asked for my contact information, an extra pamphlet, and before leaving said, “She might hate me for it but I have to show her. There’s no way I can help her get an abortion now anymore.”

Cam Côté , June 23, 2012

While doing “Choice” Chain in Hamilton, Ontario, I asked a young woman what she thought about abortion. She responded by saying, “Well I’m against abortion, but I think other people should be able to have them if they want them.” I directed her attention to the graphic image that I was holding and asked her, “You would support a woman who wanted to do this to her child?” She stared at the image for a couple of moments before saying, “Well. I guess not.” We continued to talk for a couple of minutes and walked away saying all abortions are wrong.

Maaike Rosendal, June 23, 2012

An older couple walked past the signs and took a pamphlet before walking past me. I asked them what they thought about abortion. Their response: “It’s wrong most of the time. However, if the child is deformed or if someone is raped, then it should be permitted.” I compared this to ending a newborn’s life after finding out he has a disability or was conceived in violence. “That’s different,” they said. “Don’t you think it’s better if a child doesn’t have to suffer?” Again I made a comparison. “I don’t want children to suffer either. But what if the doctor diagnosed my son with leukemia, letting me know he only has a month to live and may suffer, should I be allowed to kill him to prevent future suffering?” The gentleman responded that this would be a terrible situation, but that is precisely what happened to their granddaughter. She had an abortion after the doctor suggested she do so since her child was deformed. “And it was really sad!” At the end of the conversation they agreed that it would be better for her to recognize that her child died and begin to find healing in this way, and they accepted information about post-abortion healing. Then the man said, “You’re right, our society should be one that respects all people, not just the ones that we think are good enough!”

Maaike Rosendal, June 25, 2012

Whenever my baby is with me at “Choice” Chain I often walk around while starting conversations with people in the vicinity of the display. I was doing just that as our team “Choice” Chained a busy intersection in London. I walked over to two young men who watched from a distance and asked what they thought about the images. Both were disturbed by the abortion pictures and Chris, the first one said, “You can’t support it when you see that.” We spoke about each person’s responsibility to do whatever they can to stop abortions. Then the other guy joined the discussion. “I don’t think it’s okay for birth control but sometimes women are in really terrible situations. What then? What else can they do?” I responded, “You’re right, many women experience circumstances in which abortion seems like the only way out. But does it really help her to end her child’s life?” After we discussed several difficult circumstances and decided they weren’t reasons to kill born or pre-born people for, both asked if there was anything they could do. “I’m a construction guy,” Chris joked. “We don’t stand on street corners and we work at night so what can I do?” I encouraged them to go to CCBR’s website to learn more, be ready to explain the pro-life position, speak out about it with others, and challenge the status quo. Before they left, both asked for pamphlets to read, as well as give to other people, and thanked us for coming to London that day.

Another person watching from a distance was a retired counselor who didn’t know what to think about abortion. I explained the current situation and what happens during an abortion. He brought up circumstances surrounding a crisis pregnancy and I addressed each of them. Then he asked when I thought abortion should be illegal so I said, “We believe in changing public opinion before changing public policy. But if you wonder when it should be illegal, let me ask you a question: Is it ever okay to kill another human being? If not, and the pre-born are human beings like you and I, should it ever be legal to kill them?” He thought for a moment and then said, “That’s a really good question. I have never thought about the morality of abortion before but I completely agree with what you say. We shouldn’t allow it at all.”

At a different location in London that day, a middle-aged man walked by and asked what we were doing. After explaining our goal I asked what he thought about that. He considered himself personally pro-life but didn’t feel that he had the right to tell others what to do. I compared abortion to other injustices by saying, “I’m personally exposed to slavery but I can’t tell my neighbor he can’t have a slave.” The man smiled. “That’s a really good point. What about overpopulation though? What would we do with all the extra people?” First I suggested that this may not even be true but if it is the case, perhaps we should kill adults first, since they use more space and resources. Again he smiled. “It doesn’t make sense, does it?” When asked what changed his mind he said, “I’ve never heard your arguments before but they’re so right and combined with the pictures… I guess that makes an abortion always wrong, for everyone.”

Maaike Rosendal, June 26, 2012

While in Toronto I stopped a young man named James by asking him for his opinion on abortion, but he hadn’t given it much thought. “I’ve been kind of busy helping people that I know.” I responded that we obviously have common ground; we care about the well-being of others. “But what about the pre-born?” I asked gently. “They’re being targeted every single day. Do you think we should care about them?” After a 15-minute conversation James said, “I’ve been so wrapped up in my busy life but you just really made me think. I want to thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’m definitely going to look into it more because it sounds like you have really good reasons for what you believe.”

Nicholas McLeod, June 26, 2012

I was in Dundas square and a gangster-looking teenage guy was looking shocked at the pictures and I asked him what he thought about abortion.  He said that he was speechless and said that he had never seen anything like it before.  I asked him if he had ever thought about abortion and he said never.  He thanked me and said that he is now totally against that.

Maaike Rosendal, June 26, 2012

We were doing “Choice” Chain right outside Toronto’s city hall. Some people stopped for a conversation, while hundreds of others took a pamphlet. I offered one to an approaching businessman and asked what he thought about abortion. “Against it!” he said hurriedly. I quickly responded, “Is it always wrong?” He slowed down. “Most of the time.” Again I tried, “What do you think about the pictures then?” This time he stopped. “What is that?” I explained that the baby in the image had been decapitated by a first-trimester abortion. “Holy s#^t!” He turned towards me and whispered, “Seriously? That’s an early one?” I nodded. He looked at the signs again, taking several minutes per image to absorb the unimaginable, repeating over and over, “I can’t believe it. S#^t, I just can’t believe it.” He faced me again, looking dumbstruck, so I gently said, “Horrible, isn’t it?” The businessman responded, “I’m from France and we have abortion too. I just had no idea it looks like that but I want to know more.” We spoke about when human life begins and the value of every individual, contrasted by what happens almost 300 times per day in Canada alone during every single abortion. “So what can I do?” the man asked. “What can I do to stop it?” I shared many different ways in which he could make a difference and also referred him to unmaskingchoice.ca. He asked for extra pamphlets to share and left the conversation saying, “You opened my eyes today. I was kind of against abortion but I knew nothing about it. Thanks for showing me. I will do everything I can to stop it.”

Ania Biernacka, June 25, 2012

During “Choice” Chain a woman came by and was shocked when she saw the images. She told me she was thirty years old and she had never seen photographs of abortion before. She kept glancing at the images, then turning away with a stunned look on her face. She told me that although she herself was adopted and had placed her own child for adoption, before seeing the images she thought abortion could be an okay option. After seeing what abortion does, she said, “That is so evil.” The woman also said, “Now I could never, ever choose that. It just confirms that I did the right thing.”

Caroline Slingerland, June 26, 2012 Toronto, ON.  Queen St. and Bay St.

I spoke to a young man who identified himself as pro-choice.  I pointed at the images and asked him what he thought about them then, and he admitted that for him it is difficult to maintain that he is pro-choice while looking at those images.  But he still felt that even though he no longer was pro-abortion, he had no power to do anything about abortion because it is still a woman’s choice.  Since I was holding Elliot, I gestured to him and asked the man what he would do if someone was about to kill Elliot right then and there.  He agreed that in that situation he would be responsible to do everything humanly possible to try stop someone from committing that act of murder.  As he admitted that, he recognized the parallel that I was drawing and said “You’re right.  If I knew that someone was going to abort their baby, I would have to do everything possible to try to convince them not to.”  He left agreeing to educate himself on pro-life apologetics so that if he was ever in that situation, he would be equipped to handle it

Cam Côté – June 26, 2012

While doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto, Ontario, I talked to an older fellow from Iran who told me that he was pro-life, but that there was nothing we could do to change the ways of the world. He said that people tried to a thousand years ago, but that we still weren’t any better. We proceeded to talk about how William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King Jr. were able to transform their culture and end the injustices in their respective societies. He left by saying “I will do what I can to end this, and you do what you can. I hope you are right. I hope this stops.”

Cam Côté – June 26, 2012

I spoke with two girls while doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto, Ontario, and when I asked them what they thought about abortion one of them responded by saying, “I have never thought about it.” The other girl said, “I would say that I was pro-choice.” We proceeded to talk for quite a while, and part way through the conversation the second girl said, “Everything you’ve said is totally true and really reasonable.” Towards the end of the conversation I asked the two of them, “I know that you girls came in leaning towards the pro-choice position, would you say that you have changed?” The first girl, who had initially said she had never thought about it before, responded saying, “Yeah. I completely agree with you, what you’re saying makes sense.” The girl who had initially said that she was pro-choice answered by saying, “Definitely. I’m definitely leaning towards pro-life now. I need to keep thinking about it, but everything you’ve said has made sense.” At the end of the conversation I explained to them, “I don’t want to change your mind. I want to help you change your own mind.” They told me they wanted to learn even more, and they took pamphlets, saying they were going to go home and do a little bit more research.

Cam Côté, June 26, 2012

While doing “Choice” Chain on the corner of Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, Ontario, I spoke with an older women who readily identified herself as post-abortive, saying that she had aborted her first child. She told me she regretted it and that she was now at peace. She stared at the images for quite a while, and I handed her a Silent No More Awareness Campaign card.  At the end of our conversation I asked her, “If you had seen these images of aborted pre-born children before you had gotten your abortion, would you have still had the abortion?” She responded by saying, “If I had seen an image of a four week old aborted child before my abortion I don’t think I could have gotten the abortion.” She left thanking me for the work I was doing.

Ania Biernacka, June 26, 2012

During “Choice” Chain in Toronto at Dundas Square, I asked a man what he thought about abortion. He told me, “It's murder” then proceeded to tell me that ten years ago he had a girlfriend who aborted their baby. I told him, “I'm so sorry for your loss.” The man explained that he wanted to keep his child but his girlfriend lied to him, said she needed to see the doctor about a “pain” she had but instead she went to an abortionist who killed the baby. The man looked very sad as he told me these things. I told him that there is healing and help for those who've suffered from abortion. I gave him a card with the contact information of Silent No More Awareness and he took it and told me he would contact them for help.

Cam Côté, June 26, 2012

I asked a young couple what they thought about abortion while doing “Choice” Chain on the corner of Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, Ontario, and the fellow responded by saying he had never thought about it before, and the young woman responded by saying she was pro-choice. I challenged both of them on their views, and asked what sort of situations could justify the killing of an innocent pre-born human. The fellow answered, “Well, what if the child is going to be brought into a life of poverty with addicted parents and stuff?” The young woman replied that any circumstance was fine because it was a part of the woman’s body. After 20 minutes of discussion they both told me, “I have never heard the pro-life position said this well before.” At the end of the conversation I asked them, “What do you think about abortion now?” The young man answered, “Um. I don’t know any more. Thank you for your answers, I am totally going to have to think about this again.” The young woman stared at the images and replied, “I’m going to have to think about this.” Both shook my hand as they left and each took a pamphlet.

Lauren Kyfiuk, June 26, 2012

I was doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto when I met a young man who held that he had “no problem” with abortion. I asked him why he felt that way and he said, “I have thought about this in the past, but I don’t want to think about it today.” I challenged him by asking the question “So, just to clarify, are you saying you are ok with killing innocent human beings?” I was shocked when he replied “well, yea I guess.” I then asked him if he would still be ok with people killing innocent two-year olds. He quickly said “No they’re too old then.” We talked about the humanity and personhood of pre-born children, and I explained how there is no morally relevant difference between a pre-born human being and a born human being. I asked him if he could try to name even one morally relevant differences between himself and pre-born children that justified killing them. He said he could not. We talked some more and he ended up telling me that previously he had worked at a facility with people who would dissect dead bodies of fetuses who had been aborted or miscarried as part of their jobs. I was horrified to hear this and tried to sympathize with him, but he quickly told me that he had to leave and asked for a pamphlet. He walked away to meet up with his friend who was waiting nearby close to my friend and co-worker Maaike who heard him tell his friend, “I just talked to that girl…and I think I am anti-abortion now.”

Caroline Slingerland, June 26, 2012 Toronto, ON.  Queen St. and Bay St.

I spoke with a woman who identified herself as pro-choice, but she seemed unsure of why she was pro choice other than that it is a woman’s right.  We found common ground in that we both believe that
abortion is wrong as a form of birth control.  I challenged her on that belief and asked her that if abortion isn’t inherently wrong, why would it be wrong to use it as birth control?  As we discussed the
issue, I laid out the basic biology for the humanity of the pre-born, and the philosophy for why the pre-born deserve the same rights as born people.  We discussed the different reasons women would choose abortion, and finally she said that she agreed with me, that abortion is never right. She then thanked me for being there and admitted that her husband would appreciate that I had been there to speak to her
because her husband was pro-life, and they differed in their opinions on that subject.  I invited her to our next presentation, and she plans to come with her husband.

Cam Côté, June 26^th, 2012

While doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto, Ontario, I talked to an older fellow from Iran who told me that he was pro-life, but that there was nothing we could do to change the ways of the world. He said that people tried to a thousand years ago, but that we still weren’t any better. We proceeded to talk about how William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King Jr. were able to transform their culture and end the injustices in their respective societies. He left by saying, “I will do what I can to end this, and you do what you can. I hope you are right. I hope this stops.”

Lauren Kyfiuk, June 26, 2012

While doing “Choice” Chain close to the University of Toronto I was approached by a young man who I recognized was from my previous high school who I hadn’t seen in about 4 years. He told me that he was now taking philosophy at U of T and was just heading home from class when he saw our demonstration. He congratulated me on “finding something I was passionate about” and asked me why we were out doing this. I told him we were out on the street showing the truth about abortion because over 100,000 innocent human beings are killed every year. Afterwards I asked him what he thought about abortion and he told me he was “pro-choice.” When I asked him to clarify his stance by asking him whether he was pro-choice for everything, including things like rape, he quickly responded that he is definitely not pro-choice for rape. We talked about right and wrong, the existence of truth, the science of when human life begins, and the importance of recognition of personhood for all human beings. After we discussed the importance of being intellectually consistent I asked him, “So are pre-born children unique human beings?” He admitted yes, we know that they are human beings. I then asked him, “So then aren’t you against the killing of innocent human beings?” He paused for a moment and then said, “I’d have to give a reluctant yes.” I asked him about his position at the end of the conversation and he admitted, “Well, I guess I’m more on your side.”

Cam Côté, June 26^th, 2012

I spoke with two girls while doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto, Ontario, and when I asked them what they thought about abortion one of them responded by saying, “I have never thought about it.” The other girl said, “I would say that I was pro-choice.” We proceeded to talk for quite a while, and part way through the conversation the second girl said, “Everything you’ve said is totally true and really reasonable.” Towards the end of the conversation I asked the two of them, “I know that you girls came in leaning towards the pro-choice position, would you say that you have changed?” The first girl, who had initially said she had never thought about it before, responded saying, “Yeah. I completely agree with you, what you’re saying makes sense.” The girl who had initially said that she was pro-choice answered by saying, “Definitely. I’m definitely leaning towards pro-life now. I need to keep thinking about it, but everything you’ve said has made sense.” At the end of the conversation I explained to them, “I don’t want to change your mind. I want to help you change your own mind.” They told me they wanted to learn even more, and they took pamphlets, saying they were going to go home and do a little bit more research.

Anna Ott, June 26, 2012

Doing “Choice Chain” downtown Toronto today I asked a man walking by what he thought about abortion. “Let me tell you a story,” he said, “my friend used to work in a hospital. One day he was cleaning up a room after an abortion procedure. In all the blood and tissue he found the baby, still wiggling. He quit his job, moved away and became a famous photographer. I am sure my friend has the same opinion as I do!”

Lauren Kyfiuk June 26, 2012

I was doing “Choice” Chain when I spoke with a man who told me about how he and his girlfriend had experienced unplanned pregnancy 10 years ago and he now had a 10 year old daughter who was “the joy of [his] life.” He told me “it’s hard at first but it’s so much better in the end.” We talked some more and he told me that a female friend of his was pregnant and currently considering having an abortion. He told me he was willing to “stand by her” even though the child is not his own biologically. I told him there are crisis pregnancy centers in Toronto which could provide him with information and his friend with the practical and emotional support that she may need to choose life for her child. I also offered him a pamphlet which would also serve as a powerful tool to dissuade his pregnant friend. He asked for more pamphlets, took down the number of the crisis pregnancy centre, then shook my hand, smiled and thanked us for doing what we do.

Lauren Kyfiuk- June 27, 2012

I spoke with a lady while doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto who identified herself as “pro-choice.”  When she told me that I asked her, “What is the choice being chosen?” and we talked about who the pre-born are and what abortion does to them. Near the end of our conversation I asked her, “If it’s wrong to kill innocent born children, what makes it ok to kill innocent pre-born children? Is there any difference between us and them that makes them less of a person?” She replied “You’ve got me. I can’t answer that question.” She thanked me as she left and took a pamphlet with her.

Lauren Kyfiuk, June 27, 2012

I was doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto when I asked a young man what she thought about abortion. She told me she was against it. I asked her if she was doing anything to EndtheKilling and she replied “No, what can I do?” I told her about the “Pro-life Classroom” videos on www.umaskingchoice.ca and asked her if she could pass on some of our pamphlets to her family and friends. She accepted the pamphlets willingly and told me she would check out the website to learn more.

Cam Côté – June 27^th, 2012

While doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto, Ontario, I spoke to a woman who answered my question of what she thought about abortion by saying, “Well, I’m Roman Catholic, but I can’t force my morality on other people. I support their right to choose.” I asked her, “Do you support a woman’s right to kill her born child?” She simply answered, “Well…no.” We talked for a little bit longer and at the end of the conversation she asked, “What can I do to help you? What can I do to stop this?” I told her about our upcoming presentation, and she told me she would do her best to come.

Lauren Kyfiuk, June 27, 2012

I was doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto when I spoke with a high school student who told me that she is personally pro-life, but doesn’t know much about the issue, and never talks about it. I walked her through some basic pro-life apologetics, and I we had a mock-dialogue where I pretended to be a pro-choicer. Before she left she thanked me for the conversation and told me she was going to visit the website to learn more about the issue of abortion to prepare to discuss it with her friends and family.

Cam Côté, June 27^th, 2012

While doing “Choice” Chain in Toronto, Ontario, I asked a young woman what she thought about abortion. She responded by saying, “I don’t know this, what is this?” Before explaining to her what abortion was I asked her to really look at the picture and tell me what she thought. She pointed at the fingers and toes visible on the picture of the 10-week old aborted fetus and said, “That’s a dead baby. That’s wrong.” We talked about legal void and abortion status quo in Canada for a couple of minutes and she left saying, “This has to stop. We can’t do this. Thank you for showing me this.”

ren Kyfiuk, June 30, 2012

I was post carding in Ottawa and I walked up to a house that had a screen door. As I approached I saw that a man was approaching the door. He opened the door and I handed him a postcard that compares the killing of innocent pre-born human beings during the Holocaust to the killing of innocent pre-born human beings through abortion. I asked him, “Do you know about abortion?” He replied, “Yes, it’s horrible.” I asked him if he knew 100,000 children are killed each year in Canada alone. He responded, “No, I did not know that.” Then I asked him, “Are you doing anything to EndtheKilling?” He said he wasn’t. I asked him “Would you like to?” He replied, “Yes, but what can I do?” I told him about the CCBR website “Pro-life Classroom” and about the various projects available as well as the donation option. He looked me in the eye, smiled and said “Thanks for doing this- I’ll definitely look into this.”

Alanna Gomez, June 30, 2012

I was delivering postcards in Ottawa when I approached a man who was mowing his lawn. He stopped his mower and took the postcard I offered him. It read: “Irena Sendler saved 2500 children from the Holocaust. Will you help save pre-born children from abortion?” I walked away as he started reading the card. When I was about two houses away, he flagged me down and said “Miss, you can count me in!”