Pro-life group isn’t pulling any punches

EDMONTON -- Edmonton Prolife’s new executive director is planning an ambitious public campaign that emphasizes some uncomfortable, and perhaps unknown, facts about abortion.

The “Did You Know?” pro-life campaign, expected to begin in March, will display on billboards across Edmonton, detailing how Canadian women can access abortion even into the ninth month of pregnancy and the use of taxpayer dollars to fund the procedure.

“I just want to saturate the city with facts. This campaign will tick off a lot of people, but at the same time it’s going to challenge them and make them think,” said Lisa Noble, who became executive director of the group late last year.

“Almost any person you talk to that isn’t familiar with the pro-life movement is shocked when they hear that you can get an abortion up to nine months. We have to spread the message wide that not only is it true, you’re paying for it as well.”

Edmonton Prolife has organized protests, distributed pamphlets and displayed educational booths against abortion for more than 30 years. The $50,000 “Did You Know?” campaign will be the largest in the organization’s history.

It’s a bold move that fits right into Noble’s personality. Noble joined Edmonton Prolife in 2017, and she hopes to expand its mission. No matter the backlash against the pro-life movement, Noble pulls no punches.

“People can end up yelling, screaming, swearing at me  —  it’s fine. I stand my ground,” she said. “I have pretty thick skin. You have to realize that most of the time people don’t know any better. They haven’t been exposed to the full reality of abortion and that’s just what we have to show people.”

In Canada abortion is legal at any stage of pregnancy, although the vast majority are done before the 20th week. 

“I want to see an end to abortion all together, but I know it’s not something that will happen overnight,” she said. “But if we make the noise and bring attention to the truth, I believe in my lifetime we could see the end of late-term abortions in Canada. That would be an important first step.”

Born and raised in Newfoundland, Noble first felt a calling to the pro-life movement at age 14 when a high school classmate gave a presentation on abortion.

“She told this story from the baby’s point of view, from the time it was conceived until it was aborted,” Noble recalled. “She would detail the stages of growth, when it developed fingers, toes, everything. Then, when the baby was aborted, she described all the things that baby would feel.

“At that point in my life I didn’t have a clue about any of these things. And hearing this story, it almost made me want to throw up,” Noble said. 

Thirty years later, and having raised three children of her own, Noble hopes to become a leading voice in the pro-life cause, with  the most important goal being the closure of abortion clinics.

Noble expects pushback against the “Did You Know?” campaign, but the biggest obstacle is apathy.

“Nothing will ever change if we just say we’re pro-life and leave it at that,” she said. “We can’t drive by an abortion clinic, knowing babies are being killed there every day, and just be OK with it because, well, at least some of us are pro-life. We just can’t. At the end of the day, we have to try and save those babies.”

(Grandin Media)