(LifeSiteNews) — A unique human being is formed at the moment of conception. That new human being – still traveling to his temporary home in his mother’s womb – has the same right to life as you and I.

The theme for this year’s National March for Life in Canada is “Protection at Conception” and it recognizes the humanity of that tiny traveler. Here in Canada, our government doesn’t recognize the right to life of anyone in the womb, but I’m grateful to the Campaign Life Coalition for shining a light on this often-overlooked truth: Embryos are people, too.

At the moment of fertilization, we already are who we will become. All the information we inherited from each of our parents is in place and will determine our physical characteristics – blue eyes, red hair, left handedness – and even some aspects of our personalities.

Dr. Joel Brind is retired from a long career as a professor of human biology for the City University of New York and for decades he taught his students about what he called “baby’s first cry.” It’s not that beautiful sound new parents hear after a child has been born. Instead, it’s a silent signal the embryo sends his mother to let her body know it’s got some work to do to see him through nine months of development.

Pregnancy tests look for the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin – HCG – which is made by the embryo. Levels increase for the first 10 weeks as the embryo develops. This rising HCG is the first chemical signal from a baby to her mother, her first cry. We can’t hear it with our ears, but our bodies recognize it and immediately set about welcoming and nurturing this child.

I was the victim of a date rape at 15 years old. My baby was signaling that she was there, but I was consumed by fear, afraid of losing the love and respect of my family, of having to leave high school, of a hopeless future. A so-called counselor at an abortion mill told me abortion was the obvious solution, so I boarded a bus to upstate New York. I was a girl harboring a secret. On the ride back, I was a different person. I was alone; my baby’s first cry had been silenced.

At the March for Life in Ottawa on Thursday, Canadians will hear the abortion testimonies of six of us from Silent No More. Our stories are vastly different but they all contain one regrettable aspect: None of us protected our children at conception.

Michelle will talk about the nine abortions she had in 13 years, unable to escape what she describes as a demonic cycle of alcohol and drug abuse, suicide attempts and abortion. David will tell how he felt he was being responsible by helping to pay for two abortions with two different women, and then how his crippling regret and guilt cost him his promising acting career and – quite literally – his voice.

David’s story also will demonstrate what can happen when we do protect our unborn children. Years after his abortion experiences, he met and married a wonderful woman, Kirsten, whose pregnancy at 48 years old seemed the stuff of miracles. But his wife also had breast cancer, and made the decision not to have chemotherapy. Both she and the baby survived, though Kirsten’s life was later cut short by ALS. But standing by his side as he gives his testimony will be his daughter, Adessa, the child who was protected at conception.

If you can come to the March for Life on Parliament Hill on Thursday, I urge you to do so. If you are a mother or father suffering after abortion, our testimonies will show you the way out of that cycle of shame and guilt. God forgives each and every one of us, our babies forgive us, and we can learn to forgive ourselves for failing to recognize that first cry.

Angelina Steenstra is the national coordinator for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign in Canada.