It all started with a school project, a trip to the library, and a debate with someone a lot older than her changed her life forever.
At 13 years old, Irene De Souza was confronted with a choice: turn around and mind her own business, or stand her ground and explain her point of view.
Irene chose the latter. On that day — without any kind of pro-life apologetics whatsoever — she debated a university-age boy on why she felt abortion was wrong.
And this is where our conversation with Irene begins.
As an advocate and activist for the pro-life movement, Irene has worked and volunteered tirelessly with the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) and has spent most of her life giving talks, volunteering at choice chains, and having difficult conversations with absolute strangers on the impacts of abortion.
I’ve known Irene for a while, and her passion for the pro-life movement and her courage to speak up is one of the many things I admire about her. For this episode of The Feminine Genius Podcast, I got to sit down with her and talk to her about her pro-life work and how she’s seen God work through her:
"Courageous people are people who do things despite being afraid...so if you're afraid, join the club!" — Irene De Souza
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. 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.
If you want to learn more about the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform and the work they do, you can check them out on Facebook or their website: endthekilling.ca.
If you want to get in touch with Irene, you can send her an email at irene.ds95@gmail.com.