Usually a quiet, reflective affair, this year’s Pembina Pro-Life Life Chain on Oct. 6 featured more excitement and discussion than in years past.
The annual event is a chance for those people who oppose abortion to make their feelings known in a non-aggressive manner. The idea is to stand in a visible location, holding signs presenting their point of view.
Society president Fran Miedema said the goal is to bring awareness to their ideals, without engaging in any dialogue or arguments with opposing viewpoints.
“It’s public, peaceful and prayerful,” Miedema said. “They’re silent and not to discuss with others. If someone wants to discuss, they’ll be asked to speak to me or (Westlock representative Toney Seguin) afterwards.”
Despite the society’s desire to keep the event peaceful and unobtrusive, a pair of pro-choice supporters opted to make their presence known.
Jennye and Mark Blain went around to the four corners of the intersection of highways 44 and 18, arguing their side of the debate, with only limited reaction from the Pembina Pro-Life members.
Although the majority of the Pembina Pro-Life members followed their instructions and remained silent in the face of opposition, a few engaged in discussion with Jennye as she made her way through the crowd.
While addressing the crowd, Jennye chastised the Pembina Pro-Life members for being willfully “ignorant” and not taking her package of pro-choice information.
Seguin said she wasn’t too happy with the Blains’ actions — not because they were on opposite sides of the debate, but because the proper time to discuss their differences would have been after the Life Chain ended.
She said she and Miedema had offered to talk after the Life Chain was over, but the Blains opted to try and engage in a dialogue then and there.
The Life Chain is a pan-North American movement that started in 1986, Miedema said. It has been taking place in Westlock for the last 15 years.
Every year at around the same time, Life Chains spring up in dozens of communities across the continent to bring awareness to the anti-abortion cause.
Each Life Chain’s signage and actions are governed centrally, Miedema explained. There can be no visuals, only written signs, and there are only a few select messages that can be displayed on the signs. That way it’s a uniform movement with no one group bringing undue and inappropriate attention to itself and the movement.
