Pro-lifers protest legal abortion

By ANH HOANG
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

The youngster and his mother joined more than 50 pro-lifers in front of the Law Courts Building, Jan. 28, to protest the 1988 Supreme Court decision removing abortion from the Criminal Code.

"I remember clearly 12 years ago when the decision came down," said Paula Rebstock, who was expecting her third child at the time. "And it was so horrible to think that the life of this (child) depends on me and the decision I could have made. It was scary to think that I could end his life that quickly."

She was there not just to remember the day of the Supreme Court decision, but to remind the public of the moral issue that has risen from it.

"By being here, it's saying we're not going to go away. Just because someone made it legal, doesn't make it right."

The rally is an annual event hosted by Alberta Pro-Life of Edmonton. Pro-life president, Anne Wansink, hopes such a public rally brings awareness to the people walking and driving by.

"I don't think people know all the facts," Wansink said as she walked around the block of the courthouse holding a sign that read, "See the world through your child's eyes. Choose life."

"I think being here reminds them this is still happening. (The public) forgets sometimes. It's easy to forget an issue like this."

Wansink wants the public to see children walking alongside their parents as examples of the life that begins with a fetus.

"These are children with pro-life parents," she said. "Those children who didn't have pro-life parents, they're just as important as these children. But they didn't get a chance."

Wansink and other pro-lifers are not only fighting a 12-year-old law, they're fighting every interest group - such as abortion doctors and Planned Parenthood - with a financial stake in the abortion industry.

"There are people who have an invested interest in abortions, they're not going to go away quietly," she said.

Like many rally participants, Jeri Marple is optimistic a new law will put an end to abortion.

She's not sure if it will happen in her lifetime, but she plans to rally against the current situation for as long as she can.

"I remembered that day," Marple said. "I cried. There's absolutely no law to protect the weakest. I think people will realize this one day. It will change."

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