Pro-life champ a voice for the preborn

Ruth Robert first learned about abortion as a 10-year-old child. 

She was assigned a presentation that ties to pregnancy and turned to Google.

“Somehow abortion turned up in the results,” recalled the 25-year-old. “I had no idea about what was abortion. I saw pictures of what is done in an abortion and it was just so wrong.”

That night she asked her parents about abortion, and learned that anyone that opposes this practice is considered pro-life. Her father admitted he once was pro-choice but his mentality transformed after hearing his future daughter’s heartbeat for the first time. He instantly became pro-life. 

When Robert, who grew up in the Middle East, arrived in Nova Scotia over five years ago she felt a call to be a champion for the unborn.

“The moment I arrived on Canadian soil in Atlantic Canada I just knew in my spirit that I should do work for the pro-life movement,” she said. “It was less a decision on my part, but rather accepting what I call marching orders from the Lord.”

She did not envision the role she ended up playing in the Atlantic Canadian pro-life community. Her intention was to volunteer but there really was no active pro-life footprint regionally at the time. Robert immersed herself in research and found out about the worldwide annual 40 Days for Life grassroots campaign of prayer and fasting against abortion (the 2023 iteration launched Feb. 22 and ends April 3). She applied to the Campaign Life Coalition to be a 40 Days for Life leader in Halifax and was approved. She’s now Atlantic region coordinator with Campaign Life. 

Robert said she views 40 Days for Life as a deeply powerful experience.

“It is very prayerful, which I think is very important because there definitely is a spiritual element to this battle. I don’t think it can be won without God. It is very easy to think you could do this on your own strength, but realistically you can’t. We must remember to let God move our hands and feet.”

Each year, 40 Days for Life is anticipated by Robert. She said this campaign affords her with an opportunity to “spiritually recharge.”

One of the projects Robert has underway is a collaboration with Campaign Life director of education and advocacy Josie Luetke and award-winning Canadian Catholic filmmaker Kevin Dunn on a documentary on last year’s overturn of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. Robert, Luetke and Dunn have interviewed a host of legal experts and pro-life figures both north and south of the border to understand the long journey towards this momentous decision. The documentary will also examine the opportunities and challenges ahead for Canadian pro-lifers seeking a similar extraordinary legal verdict one day. 

Dunn told The Catholic Register it has been amazing to witness the faith and conviction that drives Robert. 

“Ruth is truly a voice crying in the wilderness when it comes to speaking up for Canada’s preborn citizens. One of the most poignant moments for me was filming her during a 40 Days for Life vigil on the streets of St. John’s. After speaking with a number of passersby about the horrors or abortion, she dropped to her knees on the sidewalk, in humble prayer. Her witness to life is an example for all of us,” said Dunn.

Robert is quick to credit Jesus for instilling her with strength when people on the street show hostility towards the cause. 

“You have to remind yourself that you are made in the image of God and that the lives of these children matter more than any kind of hurt or persecution. Jesus suffered for the people who crucified Him. If He can do that then I can do this because I want to be more like Him.”