The PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT in Trinidad & Tobago had its earliest beginnings in the initiatives of individuals on an ad hoc basis.

In 1987 the Emmanuel Community established the IN DEFENSE OF LIFE MINISTRY. This was a deliberate choice of name, which not only promoted life but also projected more than being “against abortion”. We are in defense of human life and dignity from conception to natural death. Missions had been undertaken to Guyana, Antigua and Grenada.

Public pro-life advocacy is done to bring the message of life and chastity to the people by means of letters to the press and TV interviews. We have also undertaken processions in the city and annual Good Friday processions for life, the manning of booths for dissemination of information and handouts of pro-life materials and literature on such occasions as the annual Charismatic Rally, the Jesus Explosion, and within the Brian Lara Promenade on occasions such as World AIDS Day. The Community also holds seminars on sexuality, chastity, contraception sand sexually transmitted diseases as well as exposing the deceit of the “safe sex” promotions.

Emmanuel Community has been the executing agency for two Caribbean Conferences on LOVE, LIFE AND THE FAMILY. The first was held in November 1992, under the auspices of the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) Secretariat. Faculty for the conference was provided by Human Life International (HLI) mainly and included the then President of HLI Fr Paul Marx. Delegates from several Caribbean countries attended the conferences

The second LOVE, LIFE AND FAMILY conference was held in 1994 under the patronage of His Grace the Archbishop of Port of Port of Spain. There were over 300 participants at the conference, which attracted delegates from St Vincent, St Lucia, Guyana, Grenada, Barbados, Suriname and Guadalupe.

A third HLI LOVE LIFE AND FAMILY conference was held in Trinidad & Tobago in 2004 and was executed by the AEC Secretariat.

The Emmanuel Community is also the designated custodian in Trinidad & Tobago of the Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Protectress of the Unborn. The Community has taken this Image, and an earlier replica from the USA, to parishes in Trinidad, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, and St Lucia

The Community has spearheaded resistance to calls in Trinidad & Tobago to legalise abortion, decriminalise the participation in abortions and to make abortions available on demand even to minors. In May 2004, formal proposals to this end were submitted to the Government of Trinidad & Tobago by ASPIRE (Advocates for Safe Parenthood.

Improving Reproductive Equity) and circulated to the public in general. This group is the lobby for Planned Parenthood of America. The Emmanuel Community mobilised a number of faith-based organisations to take a stand against those initiatives and formed an umbrella organisation LIFE (Life is for Everyone) which included the IRO of Trinidad & Tobago, the Christian Council of Churches of Trinidad & Tobago, the Council of Evangelical Churches of Trinidad & Tobago, the Muslim Organization, ImamE-Zamana Mission, and Lawyers for Jesus.

This coalition formally petitioned the Prime Minister and his Ministers and eventually won a pronouncement by the Prime Minister that the Government was PRO-LIFE.

In 2005, the Community in collaboration with the coalition mentioned above, scored another victory, when as a result of our agitation and petitions, the Government decided to withdraw the “Trinidad & Tobago Draft National Gender Policy and Action Plan” proposed by the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs.

The Policy proposals and recommendations mentioned therein contemplated an all-embracing definition of the family and in particular a definition that includes same-sex unions.

Emmanuel Community proposes a Conference on the theme Respect for Human Life on September 5, 6, and 7, 2008 with a “March for Life” on the afternoon Sept 7.