Youth Blog

We’re back!

After a whirlwind trip and FULL bus of Canadian pro-life youth, to attend the world’s largest annual human rights demonstration, the March for Life in Washington D.C, we have so much to share with you!

Here’s what happened.

After a rather snowy 12-hour bus ride from Mississauga, ON, to Washington D.C on Thursday, January 18th, we arrived at our hotel for some much-needed relaxation, to gear up for the March the following day!

On Friday morning, prior to the commencement of the March for Life kick-off rally, our group had the privilege of attending the Advancing American Freedom Open House, hosted by former Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence for some hot beverages and fellowship with pro-life, political youth leaders!

Before heading out, we had the chance to snap photos with the pro-life champion and receive some words of wisdom to encourage us in the pursuit of legal protection for the unborn!

Before the open house was adjourned, Mr. Pence reiterated that the Pence family will “continue to make His cause, our cause” and will “stand [with us] every single day,” until a “pro-life America” is achieved.

We even made the former VP’s social media pages, see the photos here!

How dually beautiful and heartbreaking it was to be in the room with a politician who is not only unapologetically pro-life, but who also bolsters the brave men and women who utilize their democratic rights to demand an end to the evil of abortion.

Canadian youth pine for a leader who does not cower in the shadows, but who stands strong in the face of backlash for the sake of the little ones.

Morality is a practice, and we need transparent leaders.

And, yet our faith must not lie in Canadian politics.

Following the heartfelt speech, our crew made its way to the National Mall, to join thousands of our American (and, even Argentinian) brothers and sisters ahead of the March for Life!

Our youth danced and sang along to the pre-rally concert’s headliner, Danny Gokey, as he poured his heart out to the crowd in patriotic melody. One of his most touching, and, rather, relatable tracks was titled “My America (I Still Believe)”, give it a listen here!

Preceding the powerful performance, Jeanne Mancine, took to the stage to kick-off the opening rally! We heard from a plethora of inspiring speakers, including speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, Head Coach of the Michigan Wolverines, College Football National Champions, Jim Harbaugh, former NFL player, Benjamin Watson, and Orthodox Bishop John Abdalah.

We also heard some heartfelt testimonies. One of which came from a woman named Jean Marie Davis who was a victim of human trafficking from ages 2 – 29. She suffered severe abuse, serial rape and was addicted to heavy drugs.

Upon finding herself pregnant, it was a pregnancy care centre in New Hampshire, where she met a woman who offered her two transformative things: a gentle touch and the words “I know a man named Jesus who can help you”, that saved her, and her son’s lives.

She went on to share that in an effort to repay the life-affirming care that was offered to her, she became the director of a pregnancy care centre in Vermont.

A second powerful testimony came from a woman named Aisha Taylor, who myself, and 3 other youth, happened to meet in the elevator of our hotel, post-march. Aisha shared that during a transitional period of her life, in which she was achieving her career goals, she found herself pregnant – with twins.

The father of her children hounded her with pressure to abort the babies, as she wrestled with her options, she called an abortuary, by the grace of God – they didn’t pick up.

She then tried calling her local pregnancy care centre, and despite it being after-hours, someone answered. The woman who answered the phone stayed on the line with her for 35 minutes, listening intently to her cries.Aisha, through the love she received, chose life for her babies and simultaneously achieved her entrepreneurial goals!

Following the moving rally speeches and testimonies at the Washington National Mall, our delegation braved the all-too-familiar, snowy weather, to stand in front of the Canadian Embassy.

As we stood – with glowing hearts and Canadian flags, cheering on passing American marchers, I couldn’t help but recognize the sheer beauty of our shared humanity.

Despite our opposing nationalities and principalities, we’ve come together in droves – young and old, rich and poor – to stand in solidarity against the horrific dehumanization and killing of the innocent child in the womb.

As our group of youth cheerfully chanted “when I say pro-, you say life!”, we received resounded echoes of “pro” and “life” returning from the American marchers, just beyond the road median.

There was something so profound about the collective air of hope, joy and love, regardless of who we were and where we had come from.

Our humanness is what connects us and is from where our value derives – which is why abortion, and the turning of our backs on an innocent human being, being slaughtered in the womb of their mother, is so abhorrent and inhumane.

As we joined the rest of the marchers at the halfway point in the seemingly endless crowd, our group paraded to the Capitol, where we were greeted by dozens of Sisters of Life – women in whom joy lives and God’s grace resides.

The following day, our crew attended the National Pro-Life Summit, during which some of the most prominent pro-life voices addressed the crowd, including Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America, Abby Johnson of And Then There Were None, former VP of the United States, Mike Pence, Alison Centofante of Live Action, Will Witt, and Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Martin Luther King Jr.

We were graced by the presence of a notable pro-life hero from the UK - Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was a woman twice arrested for simply praying near an abortuary during a 40 Days for Life campaign.

A line that stood out in her address, left many in a state of personal reflection, she said “if being pro-life became illegal tomorrow, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Are we as youth, as a movement, as a society, doing enough to protect our preborn brothers and sisters from the evil of abortion?

Are we doing enough to love and support mothers in crisis?

Are we honest enough with our friends and family members about our own convictions – or do we cower in the darkness, too afraid to rock the boat?

Throughout the Summit, we heard many incredible testimonies – from both abortion survivors and former abortion “clinic” workers, stories from activists and apologists, stories from strategists, lawyers and politicians.

I couldn’t help but be in a state of complete fascination with the pro-life movement’s ability to self-organize. Reformation necessitates activism structure and the ability for our group to connect with pro-life organizations in varying arenas, was a true blessing.

As we’re now home, reality has set-in – there is much work to be done, here in Canada. Just yesterday, Jagmeet Singh posted on X, stating “here in Canada, we must remain vigilant and fight to ensure Canadians have access to safe abortion everywhere in our country.”

This serves as a reminder that just as the Canadian pro-life movement possesses the desire to eradicate abortion, pro-abortion politicians, in collaboration with the abortion lobby, are seeking to simultaneously secure abortion as a universal human “right”.

This should light a fire under our feet – we need to move.

We need to ensure that our voices are loud and that our pro-life convictions would be undeniable, should the ability to be pro-life was criminalized.

As we’ve returned reinvigorated, ready for change, we certainly can’t omit those who got us there – you! Our initial fundraising goal, to subsidize some of the costs for youth was $13,000.

On Thursday of last week, we were still $4900 shy of our goal, but through your generosity, we have raised $18,739 - $5,739 more than we required!

The additional funds raised will continue to support the life-affirming work of CLC Youth as we embark on more projects this year to educate and mobilize youth to join the movement. We cannot thank you enough for your financial support – that allows us to connect with pro-life youth, create opportunities for them to become engaged and informed and to further the pro-life cause through events, activism and educative efforts.

We want to provide our donors and supporters with the opportunity to view things from our youth's perspective, so we’ve put together this photo gallery wall to detail the varying images taken throughout the duration of the trip – by our youth attendees! 

                                                                                                                                      

To see video compilations of our experience, be sure to click here to watch one of our Instagram reels!

You can watch the full broadcast of the Washington March for Life on EWTN's youtube page here.