A Voice for the Voiceless — with Irene De Souza
Season 1, Episode 2 | Originally aired June 14, 2019
About the episode
"I'm here to win your heart, not debates."
That's how pro-life activist Irene De Souza talks about her work within the pro-life movement. Irene has worked with the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) and her passion for educating others on the movement as well as alternatives to abortion started from a very young age. In this episode, we talk to Irene about how she got her start in the pro-life movement and how to overcome your fear of speaking up for the truth.
*This episode contains discussion around abortion - please take care when listening and listener discretion is advised!
Listen to the episode
Meet Irene De Souza
Growing up in a pro-life home and with a great love for children, the pro-life cause has always been an important cause for Irene De Souza. As a passionate pro-lifer, Irene did everything in her power for the pro-life cause: leading her school's pro-life club, signing petitions, attending conferences, giving speeches at school assemblies. However, with all the work she was doing, Irene did not see the result that she wanted to see. Irene did not see enough lives being saved.
In 2015, Irene participated in a Summer Internship with the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR). She decided to go as a test run to see just how effective their strategy was and was amazed with the results. In all her years working in the pro-life movement it was during the internship that she saw a huge difference being made. While employing the CCBR strategy, Irene could see the impact that she created before my eyes. Through the dialogue and strategy that we used during “Choice” Chain, Irene witnessed people change not only their minds but also their hearts on abortion daily.
It was with this conviction that Irene decided to work part time for CCBR, participating in three internships as she finished her studies at UBC in Psychology and English Literature. In 2018, Irene left staff to further pursue her aspirations in Counselling but continues to volunteer with CCBR by participating in activism projects and giving presentations on pro-life apologetics. It is through the experiences of working with CCBR that Irene has seen how detrimental and toxic abortion has been to so many people. Her hope is to continue to develop the skills she learned at CCBR and implement them in her counselling practice, alongside this important, much-needed work.