Jessie Barr
Many people have little or no understanding regarding pro-life issues and many people are too afraid to spread the awareness of abortion. There is such a little amount of people who are fighting to stop abortion that I feel as if it is almost hopeless; therefore people who do care about the issue are simply just pushing it aside because they feel as if they are wasting their time because the matter will not be addressed anyway.. But this is not true. I believe that there is much hope regarding the abortion issue in Canada. It only takes a few people to start coming out and spreading the awareness and helping other people who are uneducated on the subject and helping them realize that there needs to be a change.
I learned about abortion and being pro-life through my mother who was sixteen when she had an abortion. She was a wreck the following years after the abortion and then came to find God. She now speaks on Parliament Hill in front of the 7,000 people in Ottawa at the March for Life. She has also spoken at the March for Life in Washington in front of 400,000 people. She as gone into many Catholic high schools surrounding the area to give her testimony and to try to raise awareness to end abortion. She is part of an organization called “Silent No More Awareness Campaign”. She has given me the most hope. She puts so much time and effort into her work as the President of the Pro-Life group in Cornwall where I live and she has dedicated her time helping women who have had or are debating having an abortion. She once gave her testimony to a class and there was a pregnant mother in the class who was scheduled to have an abortion, but after my mother gave her testimony to the class the young mother decided to keep the baby and invited my mother to come and meet the new-born child in the hospital when he was born. That shows me hope knowing that one person is able to change the mind of an uncertain woman who was never told the real story of abortion and how it affects you in the long run.
My mother and my experiences have led me to want to also help. In saying that, I am the Vice-President of my school’s pro-life group. I have been involved with it since last year when it began and I am going to carry it on next year and hopefully pass it on to someone else so that the awareness will continue to be spread to young people who are unaware of this issue. There are three school buses that leave Cornwall to travel to the March for Life in Ottawa and the number of buses has increased over the years which is an amazing thing. It shows that more people are going to learn and experience what I have and I hope they are able to see if from a whole new perspective.
Abortion is a sad thing. My family was affected by abortion, which also lead to my mother having four miscarriages. People are unaware that women who have an abortion may never be able to have a child or they may have a very difficult time in doing so. People do not know that there are between 30.000 to 50,000 unborn babies aborted per year in Ontario alone and are paid for by Canadian citizens through our taxes. In saying this, Ontario tax payers alone pay $30-$50 million dollars annually for abortions. There are so many things that the people are sheltered from. It is not right that people are paying for young women who are in trouble, to receive an abortion. These young women do not know what they are getting into with an abortion. They rely solely on the doctor who tells them that it’s 100% safe and they will be fine the next day. The only thing the doctors leave out is that they may be physically fine but mentally they will never be the same. They may not even be physically fine. They may never be able to conceive again because a doctor told them it was the right thing to do.
Abortion is a terrible thing and I wish that everyone could see that. People need to start standing up against abortion to help put a stop to it. One person can make a difference and I’ve witnessed it. Abortion is killing. “A person is a person, not matter how small.” –Dr. Seuss. This quote gives me hope. It is true a person is still a person inside the womb. Women are lead to believe that it is only a blob of tissue and not yet a living child. But they are wrong. It is a beautiful child, a living, breathing human being. I am pro-life and I believe that there is much hope regarding the abortion issue in Canada! Thank you.
Choose Life. Your Mother Did!
Jessie Barr Grade 11 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Secondary School, Cornwall, ON
