When I Began to See the Value of Every Human Life

When I Began to See the Value of Every Human Life

A physician’s journey to understanding the value of every human life

This article is adapted from a video testimony I shared with Focus on the Family Canada. While the article has been edited for readability, it reflects the same stories and reflections shared in the video. If you’d prefer to watch rather than read, you’ll find the video at the end of this article.

For many years, I didn’t really think much about abortion. I knew it was a difficult decision, but I always felt it was the woman’s decision. I had friends who made that choice, and we didn’t really talk about it afterward.

Even in medical school, we were taught about abortion, but it was really presented as a procedure—a technique. It was separate from the fears and challenges of an unexpected pregnancy. We were taught, as physicians, how to help an individual solve a problem in whatever way they wanted.

At the same time, we studied embryology. I understood that a unique human life begins at the moment of conception. Yet somehow those two things remained disconnected in my mind.

Even after I became a Christian, I didn’t immediately grasp the value of every human life in the way I do today. I knew there was something that didn’t quite fit, but it took several years before God began to open my eyes.

The Lessons That Changed Me

One of those moments came while watching a young woman with Down syndrome. Her brother played hockey with one of our sons, and she often came to the arena. I watched the way her parents interacted with her, and I watched how others responded to her. She had such contagious joy.

As I watched her, I found myself thinking about prenatal screening. A question settled into my heart:

“What right do we have to decide that her life doesn’t matter?”

Around the same time, a close friend reached out to me. She had been placed for adoption as a baby and had recently met her birth mother. She heard the heartbreaking story of a young woman who had been completely alone and unsupported during her pregnancy. Her life didn’t end well.

After telling me the story, my friend simply said,

“Surely we can do better.”

Those words stayed with me.

If we truly believe in the value of every human life, then surely we can do better in how we care for women and men facing an unexpected pregnancy.

Learning to Listen

Those experiences eventually led us to help start a local pregnancy care centre.

As a physician, I began to see firsthand the importance of having a safe place where women—and men as well—could receive support, understanding, practical help, and hope.

My patients and other women in our community began telling me their stories.

They were hard to hear.

I realized that, as a physician, I hadn’t done a very good job of really listening, especially when it came to unexpected pregnancies. I hadn’t asked enough questions. Too often I had defaulted to a way of practising medicine that was perhaps standardized, but not always humanized in the way we can truly show up for people who are experiencing fear and distress.

That realization changed the way I practised medicine.

The Story I’ll Never Forget

I remember one day an eighteen-year-old young woman came into my office. She had been squeezed into my schedule because she was worried she might be pregnant.

She pointed to a freckle on her arm and said,

“My friend told me this could mean I’m pregnant.”

That comment opened the door to a much deeper conversation.

She went on to tell me that when she was fourteen, her boyfriend’s mother had pressured her into having an abortion she didn’t want. She didn’t know she had any other choice.

She told me she still thought about that child every day and often wondered what they would be like.

Her words have stayed with me ever since.

“I didn’t feel like I had any other choice.”

I remember thinking, That isn’t okay.

If we really believe women should have choices, then they need access to real alternatives. They need compassionate support, practical help, accurate information, and people willing to walk alongside them.

That is one way we demonstrate the value of every human life—by caring not only about the unborn child, but also about the woman facing an unexpected pregnancy.

A New Calling

Pregnancy Care Canada was instrumental in helping local pregnancy care centres provide that kind of support. The resources, training, encouragement, and practical help they offered were invaluable.

I became a great admirer of the organization, and eventually I was asked to join the Board.

Later, when the Executive Director was preparing to retire, we began searching for someone to take on the role. During one meeting, one of the board members looked at me and said,

“Laura, why don’t you do this?”

My immediate response was,

“I don’t want to do this.”

But in 2016, I stepped into the role, and it became one of the greatest privileges of my life.

I have had the opportunity to work with remarkable people across Canada, and I have tremendous admiration for the frontline staff and volunteers serving in pregnancy care centres every day.

They walk into difficult situations with people who are overwhelmed by fear, uncertainty, and loneliness.

Day after day, they become a tangible expression of God’s grace and compassion.

Supporting the Church

Pregnancy Care Canada and local pregnancy care centres are parachurch ministries.

We exist to support the Church, not replace it.

That is why it is so important that churches feel equipped and engaged. Together, we’re working to provide education and practical resources that help local churches respond well to unexpected pregnancies.

This isn’t simply about understanding abortion as an issue to debate.

It’s about understanding the complex realities of serving people who find themselves in crisis—people who are frightened, uncertain, and unsure how to move forward.

When we begin with compassion instead of arguments, we create space for hope.

Looking Back

Today, I care deeply about the life and dignity of the unborn child.

But I care just as deeply about the life and dignity of the woman experiencing an unexpected pregnancy who doesn’t know what to do.

I care about the father who feels helpless. I care about the woman or man quietly carrying the grief of a past abortion.

Each person matters. Each person bears the image of God. Each person has immeasurable worth.

That is what the value of every human life means to me today.

My hope is that anyone who feels trapped by a past circumstance or failure—whether it involves abortion or something entirely different—will encounter the hope and restoration found in Jesus Christ.

My prayer is that we, as His people, will represent Him well, so that those who aren’t sure how to move forward will discover the abundant life He came to give.