Carol Everett, a former abortion advocate who became a pro-life crusader, will be the keynote speaker at the May 8 rally on Parliament Hill and during the Rose Dinner to be held at Ottawa’s Hampton Inn.
Before converting to the pro-life movement in the 1980s, Everett operated abortion clinics in the United States from 1977 to 1983 that performed about 35,000 abortions.
“That’s somebody that you really want to hear from,” said Douglas. “She has a wonderful story to tell (and) she is a very well known pro-life speaker at this point.”
The three-day event will kick off May 7 with a candle-light vigil and prayer service. May 8 will begin with morning masses held in several churches in support of the March. The main event will begin at noon with the pre-march assembly on Parliament Hill, where speakers will include religious leaders, members of Parliament and other pro-life supporters. The procession through downtown Ottawa will start at 1:30 p.m.
Later that day, Jason Evert will be the keynote speaker at the youth banquet to be held at the Hampton Inn. Evert is the author of 10 books and is an international public speaker on chastity. He has addressed more than 1 million teens over the past 15 years, according to a CLC press release.
Evert will speak again during the full-day youth conference on May 9. He will be joined by CLC’s youth co-ordinator Alissa Golob, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, Stephanie Gray and managing editor of lifesitenews.com John Jalsevac.
“It is very important to have the leaders there who are doing the work,” said Douglas.
Campaign Life is also promoting a YouTube video that draws attention to the theme of this year’s march: RU-4Life.
“This year we really wanted to focus on the theme of RU-486, and talk about how it should be talked about in the news,” said Golob. “Everybody checks social media on a regular basis, sometimes multiple times a day, so we have to go where people are. Social media is a really valuable tool for spreading the message very quickly and easily.”
RU-486, also known as Mifepristone and Korlym, is a synthetic steroid which can be used to induce early stage abortion. Golob says the drug not only terminates pregnancies but can also cause serious bleeding in women. The drug is currently unavailable in Canada but an application seeking its approval is currently before Health Canada.
Last year’s event was the largest in history, with about 25,000 people assembled on Parliament Hill and thousands more participating in local marches across Canada.
“We certainly intend to build on the number from last year and extend it,” said Douglas. “We’re going to the parliamentarians with the message of the importance of human life, all human life, from the time of conception until natural death.”