Life speaks, and mothers in Chile gave their preborn babies an opportunity to have the last word in a town square abortion debate.
On September 8th 2018, a group of mothers came together with thousands of pro-life supporters to drown out the growing pro-abortion movement in Chile by amplifying the sound of their babies’ heartbeats through their megaphones.
Watch the video on Facebook here.
With microphones strapped to their bellies the loud, audible heartbeats of numerous preborn children could be heard in a peaceful protest demonstrating that “La Voz de Corazon” (the Voice of the Heart) will not be silenced or ignored.
The Colectivo Por Las Dos Vidas: Ola Celeste Chile helps organize this now annual event which involves the participation of several pro-life groups from different regions throughout Chile in coming together to fight against the rising political opposition who seek to further loosen Chile’s protection of life laws.
Dressed in baby blue and waving their signature bandanas, hundreds upon hundreds of people of all ages and walks of life marched throughout the streets surrounding Santiago chanting “Por Las Dos Vidas!” (For Both Lives), demanding policies and laws that continue to protect and care for the lives of both mothers and their preborn children.
Until last year, Chile had a strict ban on abortion in every circumstance.
Despite Constitutional protections and Chilean President Sebastián Piñera’s promise to stand firm against efforts to legalize abortion, legislation passed in 2017 which now makes abortion acceptable under the law in the cases of rape, fetal non-viability, or when the mother’s life is at risk.
Many feared once these grounds were accepted, opposition to pro-life leaders would intensify their efforts to make abortion a common and accepted practice in a country whose historical identity has always been one to protect life at all costs.
According to Elizabeth Bunster, director of Project Hope, in an interview with the Catholic News Agency’s local affiliate, the new laws only further the anti-life movement to completely legalize abortion. Yet Bunster and others remain steadfast and all the more invigorated to fight for their traditional pro-life national identity and mission of, “accompanying women in crisis pregnancies and those who suffer from the consequences of abortion.”
Pro-life women like Reivindica, the mothers group who broadcast the sounds of their baby’s heartbeats last Sunday, are not going away, and together with several other life-affirming charities are supporting women and their children through every stage of life so an abortion in Chile never has to be a consideration.
Bunster went on to say the new law, “makes obvious what we were saying: that approving abortion on three grounds opened the door for abortion to be [completely] legalized.”
Following the example of Argentina’s “Salvemos Las 2 Vidas” (Save Both Lives) campaign, Chileans created and submitted numerous videos and took to social media calling upon fellow citizens to stand up, speak out and join the #PorLas2Vidas crowd and defend mothers and their preborn children who cannot yet speak for themselves.
“We need humane choices for women and their children…we deserve policies and laws that take care of both lives. Because we defend everyone’s human rights!”
The Pro Las Dos Vidas has been held annually for the last four years on September 8th which also coincides with the “National Day of Remembrance for the Unborn” killed in abortion throughout the United States.
Photo by Christin Noelle on Unsplash
J. C. Beichner is a post-abortive mother, pro-every life advocate and author of the award-winning book, Grace in Progress: Prayers for the Beautifully Broken.
