Eastern Europe: Former TV journalist and Orthodox priest spread pro-life message in ongoing abortion debate

When a series of health problems plagued the former T.V. reporter, Laura Doveika, she said that this was a warning that her life needed to change radically.

Doveika loved her career and all the benefits that it brought. Yet, all those came to a halt when her health issues drew her closer to God and later in the creation of the new pro-life organisation, ESMU DZIVS (I'm alive). “I was so in love with myself, living for my benefit,” she says. As she drew closer to God, she began to see healing in her health and liberation from her inner ego through her four children, whom God gave to her and her husband, Arthur.

As she held one of her daughters, a broadcast about a Chinese Christian who was saving babies from abortion and finding Christian families came on the airwaves. She says that became a powerful moment to protect young lives at all costs.

However, circumstances changed. Before any practical help could be given, the ESMU DZIVS team realised that there was an information vacuum on the issue of induced abortion in Latvia.

Special report: The number of pro-life marches in Europe is growing 

Currently, she and her team are in the process of creating a video that features a gynaecologist and embryologists explaining the complex processes of conception and describing the truth about an induced abortion procedure.

Next to educational videos, they film women's and men's testimonies after an abortion. With God's help, she says, they want to create professional content that could be broadcast initially on social networks or even on T.V. In addition to producing original video content, Laura, together with her husband Arthur, also holds a weekly broadcast ESMU DZIVS on the Latvian Christian radio station, Latvijas Kristigais Radio(LKR).

In addition to Laura and her husband, Arthur, the core team includes a gynaecologist who was once an abortion provider and supporter. The gynaecologist also joined the ESMU DZIVS organisation, along with a film crew that includes a director, cameraman, video editor, and producer.

ESMU DZIVS hope that the first March for Life will take place in Latvia in the near future, but first and foremost, the issue of abortion and life needs to be raised among society and especially among Christians. “We believe that God will provide,” she says regarding future opportunities.

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# Orthodox priest marches for life in Romania

**Romania may now be a well-developed E.U. economy, but an Orthodox priest hopes that his country will move towards understanding that life begins in the womb.**

Each March, the Orthodox priest Radu Brinza and others from the city of Ia?i come together to share the pro-life message that life is sacred. Brinza also coordinates the pro-life activities department in the Archbishopric of Ia?i.

Abortion is legalised up to 14 weeks in the country and can be extended in exceptional cases. Former Communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu outlawed it but later repealed it in the early 1990s after the fall of Communism, according to a report from NPR. Although the practice has decreased due to a lack of funding in many medical facilities, many still opt for a termination.

Before COVID-19, Brinza saw around 6000 attend the pro-life rally in his city, and during the pandemic, the march took place online. However, after the pandemic passed, we returned from online to our reality. Even if after COVID-19, the number dropped to 2000 participants, and now there are 6000 again, he said in a message to CNE.

Brinza also says he has attended pro-life rallies outside of Romania, including in The Hague, Netherlands, and Paris, France. He says one aspect that distinguishes his marches from others is how widespread the pro-life cause has spread across his country.

Brinza cites that the 2024 march was organised in 3 county capitals and throughout 19 localities, where participation topped over 14000 people. Although the Church's responsibility is outside the political realm, he says a priest should be a father to all. These marches shift the mentality that life is a gift, and despite the ideological onslaught of pro-choice thinking, being and confessing who you remain are essential, he says.

“Romania saw the hard experience of a totalitarian system. That's why, for most people here, it's still something curious to go out on the street for something. Sincere because they come not following an order from somewhere but of their own free will. And that makes us happy the most because we are not necessarily interested in a large audience but one convinced of what life means,” he writes.