RECLAIM: First street outreach of 2024 off to a flying start

A new year and we’re off to a flying start for our youth pro-life outreach. Last Saturday the Reclaim street outreach was back with a bang. 

A group of us dispersed throughout O'Connell Street in pairs, talking and encouraging people to read our leaflet with facts on abortion. 

We were mostly met with openness and some approving nods and encouraging words. It’s obvious that the very high numbers  of abortions are causing concern to some people who are thinking about the issue despite the media spin. It’s great to have a strong group of pro-life people in the public square  to answer their questions. 

There were, however, a few aggressive encounters which left us perplexed, with a handful of people shouting, cursing and even hissing at us! One tried to rip out all the leaflets from one of our canvassers. It's a sad reality that their aggression is likely because they don’t want to be challenged about the reality of abortion. 

But, in contrast, it’s wonderful to see the interest and curiosity about the unborn baby models we show. Children absolutely love them, and stare in amazement and wonder at the little baby figures. You can see them thinking they once too were that small and growing inside their mother's womb.

The thing is - if you describe to any young child what abortion is they would undisputedly recognise it as a killing of a baby. And, they would be horrified. 

One of our canvassers had an interesting conversation with a woman who after a while, admitted finally that abortion is indeed the murder of a baby. Nonetheless, she said, that did not change her views and said that the woman has the right to choose to kill her own child. 

It's a harsh reality but it just shows the importance of us showing up on the street and spreading the truth, to anyone willing to listen.

As the canvassing ended, we gathered to warm up - and to pray for all of the people that we have met on the street, who we spoke to and all the women considering abortion and who are hurting. After a good homemade meal, we ended another day of a fruitful pro-life street session.