One Child Nation is a documentary narrated by Nanfu Wang, a filmmaker from China seeking to understand the infamous one-child policy she grew up with. It is a personal issue for Nanfu. Her name means “man pillar” as her parents wanted a son, but when they had a girl still hoped that she would grow up strong like a man. Her parents later had the desired son – something Nanfu grew up ashamed of. None of her friends had siblings. She felt like her family had done something wrong.

The documentary reveals the world Nanfu grew up in – a world immersed in propaganda praising the one-child policy. This propaganda included the promise that fewer children would lead to prosperity, the fear of overpopulation, and even the horrifying vision of China descending into cannibalism. This propaganda was internalized by the culture. Some disliked the harsh enforcement it allowed – which included forced abortions or sterilization, high fines, and destruction of homes if they failed to pay – but many people Nanfu interviewed still argue in favor of the policy.

The blind belief in dramatic horror stories used to justify human rights violations will sound familiar to those active in the pro-life movement. “If you have more than one child, we will all become cannibals” is not that dissimilar of an argument from, “If we don’t allow abortions, we will have too many poor people.” Both premises are questionable, and the cure seems just as, if not more, atrocious than the problem.

One of the most powerful elements of this documentary is that Nanfu shows the devastation of the one-child policy. She shows the victims – the young children who lost their lives, either abandoned or killed. The victims are not hypothetical ideas, or abstract statistics. Everyone from parents who abandoned their child to avoid being stuck with a girl, to family planning officers who carried out the policy all shrugged and said they had to go along with the policy. The documentary shows the real cost of indifference toward human life.

There is a line near the end of the documentary that will comes across as jarring, as it goes from critiquing China’s propaganda to supporting our culture’s pro-abortion propaganda. But I hope that the reality shown in the rest of the documentary will be the lasting impact. My hope is that viewers will take pause at the cost of turning a blind eye to human rights violations, will question what propaganda is being propagated in our own culture, and will consider the cost of indifference in being complicit in the atrocities of our time.

Now, the SignsUp! campaign continues in your hands!

Want to do SignsUp! with your school club? Maybe you want to use the signs to send a message to your provincial legislature. Or maybe you and your friends want to educate commuters at a busy intersection near you.

The signs are available for use and, similar to our flag display, we will work with you to coordinate dates and location, and assist you as much as possible in sharing this message in your community. You can arrange to get signs and find out more here.

The first round of SignsUp! action got noticed. The week of the March for Life saw some of the most pro-life media coverage we have ever seen, and part of this was due to the fact that communities across Canada were confronted with the reality that Canada has no abortion law, and saw that people are willing to stand up and protest that injustice.

A quick look at how it went down:

Here are links to some of the media coverage generated by SignsUp!:

Does Canada need laws for abortion? 

Ontario sentencing rekindles pre-born debate

Canadian March for Life will protest Canada allowing unlimited abortions up to birth

Letter to the Editor: Canada needs a law to govern abortion

Letter to the Editor: Thirty Groups March for Life

Local advocates raising awareness around abortion legislation

And a huge congratulations to these little volunteers who posed for what was selected as the winning picture from the campaign! Abortion is a hard thing to talk to kids about, but when you do, they instinctively get everything that’s wrong with it. This makes them passionate about sharing the message, and we hope that their childlike understanding of right and wrong when it comes to abortion will stay with them into all the gray areas of adulthood.

Of course, thank you to all of YOU who made this possible. Without cross country support, this campaign would not have been nearly as effective. We are honoured that so many of you would take time out of your day and week to stand up with us for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Often we feel nervous about displaying lawn signs, or having a decal on the back of our vehicle. It is definitely a bold move, but boldness is very much what is needed to engage the culture and change hearts and minds. We’ve put together a few talking points you can use in quick conversations, as well as provided links to more detailed answers for harder questions that might come up.

Scenario 1: Someone comments on the sign with curiosity

You: I recently learned that Canada is the only country in the world that has no abortion laws. Did you know abortion is legal through all 9 months of pregnancy in Canada? Most people didn’t know that, and these signs are meant to educate people and get us thinking about whether we’re ok with that. I think unborn babies deserve protection at some point before they’re born – what are your thoughts on abortion?

Scenario 2: Hostile but unspecific reaction to the sign

You: I’m sorry my sign is making you upset. Can you help me understand what you’re upset about? Is it because we have no abortion laws? Or because you like that there are no laws because you don’t think unborn babies should have any protection before birth?

If you remember only one thing when someone asks about the sign, it should be this: ask questions. The sign asks a question, and we ask you to do the same. We want to get a conversation going that leaves them pondering even after leaving the discussion. Do not feel embarrassed or apologetic about your position – simply state it plainly and ask for their thoughts. This takes the pressure off you to know exactly what to say to convince them, and makes them think about their own reaction.

For more specific questions, you’re going to want more specific answers. So if someone says, “What about all the unwanted babies who will grow up in abusive homes?” or “What about cases of severe fetal abnormalities?”, you’ll be ready to defend the value of life and ask the right questions to get them thinking.

Elsewhere on our website you can find clear answers to 12 of the most common questions asked in the abortion debate, including those mentioned above. We also have a series of video answers near the bottom of this webpage to FAQs about our International Standards Law, the initiative we are actively promoting in hopes of seeing a bill introduced in Parliament in the near future.

With these more detailed answers, it’s also great to end with a simple question, such as, “What do you think about that?” or “Does that help you understand my position?”

If you would like further clarification, or have a question about something not covered in our FAQs, don’t hesitate to contact us! We are passionate about sharing the message of life’s value with Canadians, and know we cannot do it alone. Thank you for your willingness to engage with your community – you make a difference by taking a stand!

Some things should be reported – assault is never ok, whether aimed at children, women, peers, or abortion doctors. But the media is so quick to judge on the issue of pro-life activism that some skip the journalistic step of investigation and corroboration. In March, the CBC reported on an incident where a woman alleged a man had come up, asked her name, and then thrown a can of paint in her face, causing damage to one eye. In the story, prominent words were “assault”, “hate crime”, and “security”.

That woman is now being charged for giving a false claim, and outright lying to police. The incident never happened. Yet, in reporting on the false claim, The Record reinforces the anti-pro-life narrative by concluding with words from Lyndsey Butcher, Executive Director of the local abortion clinic. They have never had an altercation with a pro-life advocate, she admits. But she, and the article, conclude with the dire words, “We think it’s sort of only a matter of time.”

Why would she think that if she has no experience to bear it out? And why would news outlets do such a shoddy job of their reporting, and then also refrain from printing a letter to the editor clarifying things for readers? Jonathan vanMaren shares the letter that wasn’t published, and discusses the biased narrative the pro-life movement is up against. It is up to each one of us to shift that narrative in conversations we may have in our daily lives. One-on-one interactions continue to be the best way to change hearts, change minds, and save lives.

As we drive, speak, rally and pray our way through the last week of lifeTOUR, we are struck again and again by the continued lack of awareness regarding Canada’s position on abortion.  We’ve said repeatedly that Canada has no laws, but this complete lack of regulation is not yet fully understood by most Canadians. At presentations and flag displays, people are continually surprised to find out what “no laws” really means for Canada.