Thousands of pro-life demonstrators gathered on Parliament Hill Thursday to voice their opposition to abortion and demonstrate the need to pass legislation governing the issue.
"There are no laws on abortion in Canada and we want the unborn to be protected," said Jim Hughes, president of the Campaign Life Coalition.
The 13th annual rally, organized by Campaign Life Coalition, drew up to 10,000 people, according to unofficial estimates from the RCMP.
Although Hughes believes women should have a say on the issue, he said he doesn't believe abortion should be an option under any circumstance, including rape.
"We don't have capital punishment for the rapist, which perhaps is a good idea, but we would then kill the innocent victim of that rape? We've had women here that have spoken in the past who were conceived as a result of rape and certainly they're not in favour of it and I don't think it's a wise solution to a complicated problem."
Hughes added that while he thinks women should have the opportunity to voice their opinions, they should not be given the choice to abort pregnancies.
"We think that we're going to have a population implosion in this country and we're going to need every one of these babies, over three million, that have been killed since 1969," he said.
While thousands gathered on Parliament Hill, a group from Planned Parenthood assembled across the street to offer a different view on the issue - pro-choice.
"Women must have a choice. It is their bodies that are taking on all the risks of the pregnancy," said Barbara Hayes, of Planned Parenthood Ottawa.
The demonstration caused traffic disruptions in the city's downtown core throughout the afternoon in the area of Wellington, Lisgar, Elgin and Bank Streets.
