By John-Henry Westen in Saskatoon
SASKATOON, October 30, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Canadian National Pro-Life Conference got underway last night in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, also known as the City of Bridges. The conference, “Building Bridges: Making Choices for Life,” is hosted by the Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association, and sponsored by Campaign Life Coalition and Life Canada.
Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), opened the meeting with greetings, thanks and humorous stories, followed by Dr. Delores Doherty President of Life Canada.
The evening's main speaker was Andrea Mrozek, the founding director of the blog prowomanprolife.org. Mrozek explained that she comes at pro-life from a distinctly women's perspective. She described her target audience as women in their late twenties to late thirties.
She observed that abortion has not improved the lives of women in society, was actually opposed by early feminists, has many health risks for women, and is disproportionally used to eliminate girl babies over boys. Abortion, she therefore concluded, is actually harmful for all women, and not only those who choose it.
This morning began with a rousing address by Rev. Dr. James Lamb, the Executive Director of Lutherans for Life, United States. Dr. Lamb reflected on the Scriptures, noting that the path to Calvary did not begin in a stable, but in the body of Mary, the mother of Jesus. He stressed that as Christian pro-lifers we do not only cherish unborn children because they are precious, but ultimately because they are precious to God.
“Pastors,” he said, “don't speak on political issues, unless they are also spiritual issues, and then we are compelled to speak.” Pastor Lamb concluded noting that while the Lord still wants warriors, “we are not striving for victory in the pro-life movement, we are struggling IN victory – the victory is assured.”
The next speaker, Dr. Larry Reynolds gave a very moving presentation regarding the issue from the perspective of medical doctors. Dr. Reynolds, a physician who delivered babies for over 30 years, has been a well-loved and respected teacher and researcher in Family Medicine.
He was, however, punished for his pro-life values. Last year, Reynolds was removed from his posts as Head of the Department of Family Medicine and Professor at the University of Manitoba and Head of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority's Family Medicine Program.
In his conclusion, he said through tears that when his life is over he prays that, when he meets the countless souls of unborn children and those mothers who suffered from abortion, he will be able to tell them: “I didn't do everything I could have. I didn't do as much as I should have. But I was not always silent.”