GUEST OPINION: Canada serves as a reminder to Americans to stand for life

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the author.

As a Canadian author, Catholic speaker, and post-abortive advocate, I am writing to my American neighbors with a sincere warning. What has unfolded in Canada over the past several decades is not simply political drift or cultural confusion — it is what happens when protections for the most vulnerable are stripped away, when moral boundaries are dismissed, and when good people do not rise up to defend life.

Canada has become the canary in the coal mine, and what has happened here will happen elsewhere when truth is abandoned.

The Vacuum

In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down our existing abortion law with the expectation that Parliament would return with legislation that included safeguards, gestational limits, and clear guidelines.

That never happened.

In the vacuum that followed, abortion became fully legal for all nine months of pregnancy, for any reason, with no federal restrictions, no reporting requirements, and no accountability. What was promised as a temporary gap became a permanent reality.

Today, Canada stands as one of the only countries in the world with absolutely no abortion law.

The consequences have been devastating. “Choice” has been reduced to a single, narrow path. Women are often under-informed, pressured, or treated as though abortion is their only realistic option. Many are using abortion not because they truly want it, but because our systems fail to support them, their children, or their families. And those who stand up for life are increasingly dismissed, mocked, or treated as ideological threats rather than as essential voices of compassion.

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But this shift does not end with abortion — it has opened the door to something far darker.

When Death Becomes 'Care'

When a nation refuses to protect its children in the womb, it gradually loses its ability to protect anyone. Over time, death begins to be interpreted as “care,” and suffering is met not with support but with a lethal injection. This is exactly what has happened with the rapid expansion of MAiD, Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying program.

What began as a limited option for terminally ill adults has expanded dramatically.

Today, assisted suicide is offered, taxpayer-funded, to Canadians suffering from non-terminal conditions, including mental illnesses such as depression. And the human cost of this shift is staggering.

One heartbreaking example is that of a Canadian veteran who had been struggling with PTSD. He went through extensive treatment programs, counseling, and case-managed supports through both the military and our healthcare system. After completing every program available to him, he told his case manager that he still desperately needed help — that he wanted to get better, that he wanted a life he could manage.

The response he received was chilling. His case manager told him that since he had exhausted all available programs, there was “one more option” she could offer him: assisted suicide.

This is what happens when a country embraces death as a therapeutic solution.

When abortion becomes unrestricted, it reshapes a society’s moral vocabulary. Once the dignity of preborn children is denied, the dignity of all vulnerable people begins to erode. The line moves. The categories of “eligible” expand.

Before long, a nation that refused to protect its most vulnerable children cannot protect its wounded veterans, its disabled citizens, or its mentally fragile young adults. Death becomes a service. A treatment. An escape. Even a recommendation.

Hiding the Truth

We also see the shift in our public education system.

Across Canada, fetal development — the clear, scientific reality of life in the womb — has been quietly removed from high school biology textbooks. In its place, ideological content is promoted while the basic biological truths of human development are hidden from the next generation.

When children are no longer taught how life begins or what a developing baby looks like, the moral intuition that naturally protects the vulnerable is weakened. This erasure is not accidental; it is cultural conditioning.

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And as Canada’s legal and educational systems move further from the truth, so does public discourse. Pro-life Canadians — especially Christians and Catholics — are increasingly ridiculed, excluded, and, at times, targeted. We are painted as extremists for believing what every civilization understood for centuries: that human life has inherent value and deserves protection.

In some cases, proposed legislation has even aimed (or threatened) to restrict the work of pro-life charities or faith-based organizations. While such measures shift and change, the cultural message is unmistakable: pro-life voices are unwelcome.

A Warning to Americans

To my American friends, I share this as a warning, not as despair. Your nation still has safeguards. You still have states fighting for life. You still have legislators who are willing to defend the unborn. But please understand: these safeguards are not permanent. They must be protected and strengthened — or they will erode, just as they did here.

When good people do not stand up, systems reshape themselves around convenience rather than compassion. Exceptions multiply. Boundaries loosen. And soon, a country begins defining “care” as the ending of a life, whether that life is in the womb or suffering outside of it.

Canada did not fall into this overnight. It happened slowly.

Quietly.

Incrementally.

One compromise at a time.

Learn from our story. Let Canada be the canary in the coal mine for America — a reminder that life must be actively defended, publicly protected, and courageously proclaimed.

A culture that refuses to safeguard its children cannot safeguard its future.

Bio: Elizabeth Sutcliffe is a Canadian author, Catholic speaker, and post-abortive advocate. She serves as President of the Board for the Burnaby Pro-Life Society. Through her ministry at Elizabeth Speaks Truth, she works to expose the harms of abortion, advocate for authentic women’s support, and bring healing and hope to those affected.