Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

As she takes part in the National March for Life on Thursday,
Angelina Steenstra, the National Coordinator for Silent No More
Awareness Campaign Canada and the Co-founder of Second Chance Post
Abortion Healing ministry, will wear the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond
Jubilee Medal she received in honour of her service to her fellow
Canadians.

The medal was released at the end of 2012 to celebrate the Queen’s
accession to the throne in 1952. The British monarch is Canada’s head of
state, even though Canada has full political independence from the
United Kingdom.

Steenstra said she was surprised and moved to learn that Maurice
Vellacott, the Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Wanuskewin, had
nominated her for the award. In a letter that accompanied the medal,
Vellacott described Steenstra as “a force for good” and said, “Canada
will become a nation that again values life because of works of
sacrificial service.” Steenstra said, “I never thought of myself as
being in service to my country, but being a recipient of this medal has
opened my eyes, and now I see the work of raising awareness of the
devastating aftereffects of abortion through a different lens.”

Abortion was legalized in Canada in 1969, but only when the life or
health of a mother was imperiled by the pregnancy. In 1988, the Supreme
Court struck down the existing law as unconstitutional. Without a law
restricting abortion in Canada, abortions are now governed by provincial
and medical regulations and can be performed for any reason up to the
moment of birth. Because Canada’s 34 million citizens are covered by a
nationalized health-care system, in almost every case the government
picks up the tab. As in the United States, lax reporting requirements in
Canada make it impossible to know how many children have lost their
lives to abortion, but the number is believed to be greater than 120,000
per year.

The year 2012 marked 40 years since Steenstra left Canada to travel
to Buffalo, N.Y., for an abortion following a traumatic date rape. Just a
teenager, she was afraid to tell her family about the rape, and
believed an abortion clinic worker who convinced her that her best
option was to terminate her pregnancy.

“When I had my abortion, I was told it was no big deal, that it would
solve ‘my problem’” she recalled. “In fact, the abortion began a life
of problems. For years, I lived in denial that abortion was the root of
my emotional, spiritual, physical, and relational pain.”

Steenstra attended the second annual Silent No More Awareness
Campaign event during the March for Life in Washington D.C., in January
2004. She was so moved by the testimonies of the women and men that she
accepted the invitation to bring the Campaign to Canada. Just four
months later, on May 13, 2004, Canada hosted its first Silent No More
Awareness Campaign gathering on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in
conjunction with the National March for Life. Thirteen women and men
came forward and stood shoulder to shoulder to publicly break their
silence. They did this courageous act to help others avoid the pain of
abortion, and to let those suffering in silence know that hope and
healing were available.

“We were embraced,” she said. “It was a very unique and brave thing to do. People were very grateful and applauded our courage.”

This year’s event will mark the Canadian campaign’s 10th gathering.
It is a celebration of all the lives that have been touched through the
Campaign. Steenstra points out, “The ripple effect of our testimonies is
immeasurable: Babies saved; Post-abortive women and men restored to
joy; Relationships healed; Addictions broken; Hearts mended; Medical
complications avoided – and the list goes on.”

Steenstra states that she is “grateful to be the recipient of this
medal. I accept it on behalf of all the courageous women and men of the
Silent No More Awareness Campaign with whom I stand, and on behalf of
all the post-abortive women and men whom I’ve served over the past two
decades.”

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign gathering will begin at 2:45 p.m. on the steps of Parliament Hill.