Regan King comments on his experience attending March for Life UK, held on Saturday 20 May. Regan highlights the joyful attitude of the pro-life protest, and the contrasting violent opposition from pro-abortionists. He features a moving speech delivered by CLC client Aisling Hubert.
He says: "the pro-life movement will march on, refusing to be silenced, prayerfully, patiently...It will continue to see more and more turn away from this dark medical death cult."
On Saturday 20 May, March For Life UK held its annual LifeFest.
Despite steady rain at different periods of the day, a couple of thousand people gathered for a joyful celebration of preborn life. Probably the largest UK annual celebration for the preborn, numerous representatives were on hand from pro-life campaigns and counselling services providing conversation and resources.
Violent opposition
Despite the joyful attitude of those present at LifeFest 2017, more than 100 protesters from pro-abortion group Abortion Rights and members of the Socialist Workers Party stood at the barriers of the main festival area chanting, booing, and violently heckling. The protesters did their best to provoke confrontation. The chants ranged from "Get your rosaries off our ovaries" to "Shame on you" with a few heard screaming "Pro-life die". Their markered pizza box placards were sloganed 'Legal Abortion Is Safe', 'Our Right to Decide', 'Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Choice', 'Pro-Life Kills', '#feministfightback' and 'Keep Your Faith Out Of My Vagina'. As speeches from the festival stage began, protesters pushed over a barrier, set off smoke bombs, stormed the stage, and spat on a priest before being removed by police. The protesters later blocked the route of the march before once more being forcibly removed by police.
Though facing opposition and provocation it was encouraging to see a Christ-like spirit that refused to retaliate and respond to confrontation. Contrasting the anger and hate shown by the protesters, there was an attitude of love and compassion alongside an unwavering commitment to the justice and truth of the pro-life cause.
Encouraging and inspiring speeches
A highlight of the day was hearing from people on the frontlines of representing the preborn. Speeches were made by representatives of each country in our United Kingdom addressing the sadness of 50 years of legal abortion in the UK. Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life inspired as she pointed to continued pro-life success in Northern Ireland and reminded us that we too can hope for such in the future if we keep pressing on. Lila Rose of Live Action in the US recounted how she formed Live Action when she was 15 and challenged the young people to use their youth well by her example. The protesters were noticeably hushed as two videos produced by Live Action played over a big screen by Lila exposing the deception of the abortion industry. Later in the day, Catherine Adair, a converted pro-abortion worker at the United States' primary abortion provider Planned Parenthood addressed the crowd. Despite continued shouts of protest, festival attendees listened with rapt attention.
Is such an event helpful?
The presence of antagonistic and angry opposition is almost a given when it comes to anything that favours the life of the preborn. The challenges posed by such confrontation can be off-putting to many and call into question whether it is helpful to exercise our democratic right to freedom of speech in such a visible way as a march.
This is exactly what pro-abortionists want. They know that their signs are crude and shocking and their words, cutting and hurtful. They assume that if they shout loud and crass slogans enough and scream long enough we will stop speaking up for the life of the unborn and the real well-being of mothers. They assume that we will retaliate and do something that discredits our cause. They presume that we will grow tired and run out of resource and will quit raising our voices for 'life from conception - no exceptions!'
They are wrong. As groups such as 40 Days for Life, Abort67, Life, and so many others across the UK continue to raise awareness of abortion's tragic realities more and more lives are being saved. 40 Days for Life has seen its collective campaigns save 13,000 preborn babies in 10 years. A similar figure has been achieved by Heroic Media in the United States since 2010. We continue to see growing unease among UK citizens with our nation's abortion laws.
Aisling Hubert, supported by the Christian Legal Centre in recent court battles involving gender-selective abortion providing doctors, represented England in addressing 50 years of abortion in the UK. Her words serve as a rational challenge to those who remain silently pro-life, hoping things will change without doing anything:
For 50 years we have sacrificed our children to abortion...how do we defeat this evil? We must find its weakness. The abortion industry thrives and survives on deception and lies. It cloaks itself in euphemisms like choice, like freedom. It claims the unborn are not human and it dehumanises them with terms like clumps of cells, fetuses, products of conception, and choices. The weakness of the abortion industry is it needs lies in order to survive. So we must expose the lies with the truth. We must re-humanise the unborn child, show the victim and tell their story by showing abortion for what it truly is, in all its ugliness. No injustice has ever ended by being covered up. It has to be exposed.
Perseverance!
The opposition present at March For Life UK shows there is success in exposing the abortion industry's lies. Pro-abortionist's are beginning to clearly see that they are losing their grip in convincing people of their harmlessness.
The pro-life movement will march on, refusing to be silenced, prayerfully, patiently. And purposefully enduring opposition, showing love even to those who show such hate. It will continue to prove progressive 'Christian' naysayers wrong in their claim that no lives are saved through pro-life campaigning as it helps open our nation's eyes to the holocaust that is abortion. It will continue to see more and more turn away from this dark medical death cult as pro-abortionists' lies are exposed.
Ultimately it is through this that the pro-life movement will win - its foundation is in fact based, concrete, God-given truths and values of life and love that can never change and will always win.
Related Links:
Majority want abortion time limit reduced, poll shows
Aisling's story of 'gender-abortion' injustice
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