Long-time friend of March for Life UK, Amy, spoke powerfully to the audience at The Emmanuel Centre before they went out on to the streets of London. Amy began by stating that the European Court of Human Rights had ‘recently said something to the effect of it being an act of violence against women to deny them abortion access’ (‘denial of abortion as a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment’). For Amy this was clearly a red rag to a bull as she had personal experience of one of the worst kinds of violence. Amy recounted how at age 18 she was in an abusive relationship and conceived a child through rape. ‘These were acts of violence’ she proclaimed, which left her feeling ‘degraded’.
‘I went through an abortion because when I reached out for help all the words that were said to me were: we can fix this problem, we can take this away, we can make everything better – the only option was to have a termination – or so it seemed’ Amy then added while looking directly at the listening crowd ‘I didn’t know you good people.’
Amy continued by explaining how this procedure left her feeling ‘crushed’ because although everyone kept telling her it was the best or only course of action, deep down she knew ‘it was my baby’ and so she was left ‘angry and betrayed’. It was at this point that Amy gave an evocative description of what it is like to be in a crisis pregnancy. It’s like ‘being in the centre of a tornado’ she said ‘there’s a lot of noise going on all around you and you feel totally cut off from everything else. It’s so frightening, you feel so vulnerable’. Anyone listening couldn’t help but feel the pain of the young woman in front of them who painted such a powerful image.
Amy then connected her story to the position the pro-lifers listening were in as they prepared to march; ‘If we don’t proclaim really loudly and clearly, those people who need to hear it just won’t’ she explained, helping the marchers realise the importance of their public witness.
The crowd were then given a piece of advice ‘Please do not believe it when people say “except in the case of rape”’, Amy paused here as the audience burst into a round of applause. Amy continued her explanation ‘I can tell you the truth’ she said ‘I have 2 children in Heaven, one child from rape, one I lost last year and I have 4 here on earth. Every single one of these children is my child!’
As the powerful talk came to an end there were some impactful soundbites for those listening to consider: ‘Abortion does not un-rape you. We have no exceptions! Can you say that really loudly for me and for all the babies out there who are at risk? Abortion does not heal rape it compounds it.’
