Activism
Written on 15 Dec, 1998 at 8:58 in
Activism, Paul Tuns | Author:
Paul Tuns Arrest of grandmothers galvanizes pro-lifers
On Oct. 24 and Nov. 21, Ontario pro-lifers picketed the constituency offices of about 90 MPPs across the province, protesting the government's "bubble-zone" injunction prohibiting free speech and free assembly outside abortion centres.
Campaign Life Coalition Ontario president Mary Ellen Douglas told The Interim the purpose of the protest was to pressure the current Progressive Conservative government to drop the injunction banning peaceful demonstrations around abortion clinics.
The injunction was initiated by the NDP government in 1994. ... (Continue reading)
Written on 13 Nov, 1998 at 9:17 in
Activism | Author:
Bill Whatcott By
Three pro-life defendants - Linda Gibbons, Anneliese Steden, and Rev. Ken Campbell - are awaiting trial for breaking the Ontario government's "bubble-zone" injunction.
Ms Gibbons and Mrs. Steden appeared in court Oct. 5 on charges of "obstructing a peace officer," relating to the two grandmothers' peaceful protest within 60 feet of Toronto's Scott abortuary Sept. 9. Rev. Campbell was handled separately.
In an unusual move, Judge Milton Cadsby offered Ms Gibbons and ... (Continue reading)
Written on 13 Nov, 1998 at 9:17 in
Activism | Author:
Sue Careless Magdalene, 6, Xavier, 4, and Charlotte, 2, know their Oma's in jail. Why? "Oma's saving babies."
Their Oma, or grandmother, is Anneliese Steden, 61, of Cambridge, Ont. Instead of playing with her grandchildren, Anneliese is locked up in Toronto's Metro West Detention Centre. She even turned down bail conditions that would have allowed her the freedom to hug her family.
"My wife, who has no criminal record, is in prison for walking with a picket sign," says Klaus Steden, ... (Continue reading)
Written on 13 Oct, 1998 at 8:36 in
Activism | Author:
Tim Bloedow Official says permanent measure being planned
The hope that Ontario's Progressive Conservative government will throw out the "temporary" injunction against pro-life witnessing was all but quashed last month. An inquiry with the Ministry of the Attorney-General revealed that the government is now committed to seeing the injunction made permanent.
Ministry spokesman Brendan Crawley told The Interim he doesn't know when the decision was made, and refused to elaborate. "We never comment on the position we are going to take ... (Continue reading)
Written on 13 Oct, 1998 at 8:12 in
Activism | Author:
Bill Whatcott
Three Ontario pro-lifers were arrested and charged Sept. 9 for praying, picketing, and offering counselling outside Toronto's Scott abortuary.
Rev. Ken Campbell of Milton, Linda Gibbons of Toronto, and Anneliese Steden of Cambridge were taken away by 51 Division police and charged with obstructing a peace officer after the sheriff read the terms of Justice George Adams's 1994 injunction against pro-life witnessing outside Ontario abortion centres.
The injunction was initiated ... (Continue reading)
Written on 12 Aug, 1998 at 8:53 in
Activism | Author:
Bill Whatcott On July 15, pro-life evangelist Ken Campbell was acquitted of obstructing police by Judge Milton Cadsby, in a case relating to Campbell's peaceful pro-life witness in front of Toronto's Scott abortuary on September 2, 1997.
The facts read before the court were that Campbell and renowned activist Linda Gibbons were in the government-mandated "bubble-zone" that day counselling abortuary clients to accept pro-life help and to turn away from killing their preborn babies. Sheriff Robin Rainey arrived with approximately ... (Continue reading)
Written on 12 Aug, 1998 at 8:34 in
Activism | Author:
Erin Broughton
The time has come to move from passivity to activity, says Linda Gibbons, grandmother of four.
Since her release May 5 from the Vanier Centre for Women in Brampton, Ontario, after serving her latest prison sentence for obstructing a peace officer and breaking probation, Linda has done exactly that.
Instead of focusing completely on the plight of the preborn, however, her efforts have been directed towards her elderly parents and ... (Continue reading)
Written on 12 Aug, 1998 at 8:30 in
Activism | Author:
Cynthia Clarke
Within the pro life movement there are few things that stir up as much controversy as the showing of graphic pictures of burned and mutilated babies who have died through the act of abortion. Wherever groups like Show the Truth decide to display the graphic reality of what abortion really is, they are met with arrows flung from both sides. Many within pro-life organizations are disturbed by the ... (Continue reading)
Written on 12 Aug, 1998 at 8:24 in
Activism | Author:
Sue Careless
Pro-abortion counter-protestors arrested
Grisly photos of aborted babies greeted motorists and pedestrians at Queen's Park Circle in Toronto July 10.
"Some motorists give you the finger and others give you the thumbs up and honk," said Rita Vangelderen of London, as she held a huge photo of a dismembered baby aborted at 21 weeks. "I let the pictures talk for themselves."
Rita ... (Continue reading)
Written on 9 Jun, 1998 at 7:18 in
Activism | Author:
Disabled rights advocates and pro-life supporters are once again dismayed over a lenient sentence given a Toronto physician who assisted in the suicide of a patient.
Dr. Maurice Genereux, an AIDS specialist, was sentenced to two-years less a day for prescribing lethal doses of pain killers to patient Aaron McGinn in 1996. He is the first doctor in North America to be charged with, and convicted of, assisted suicide.
Although pro-life supporters are happy with the guilty verdict, they ... (Continue reading)
Written on 8 May, 1998 at 14:02 in
Youth Activism | Author:
Mike Mastromatteo A Toronto-area woman is currently on the first leg of a four-month speaking tour of Ireland to bring a fresh perspective to the hotly-debated abortion situation.
Emma Maan, 21, of Georgetown, Ont., is the public relations director with Ontario Students for Life (OSFL), an organization coordinating pro-life efforts among the province’s high school students. She was invited to Ireland by the Dublin-based Youth Defence organization, a network of young activists who since 1992 ... (Continue reading)
Written on 8 May, 1998 at 11:40 in
Activism | Author:
Red faces in the Ontario Attorney General’s office after a major break in the trial of four pro-lifers.
The four, Rosemary Connell, John Bulsza, Ann-Marie Tomlins and William Whatcott were charted last July 3rd during a Show the Truth demonstration in the southwestern Ontario community of St. Thomas.
The group had signs showing aborted babies ... (Continue reading)
Written on 8 May, 1998 at 9:37 in
Activism | Author:
Tony Gosgnach In a development some pro-lifers are hailing as a miraculous event, longtime American activist Joan Andrews Bell has left prison, in spite of a sentence of up to 23 months levied against her in January.
Bell, 49, walked out of Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County Jail March 26. She had been sentenced by Judge Raymond Novak for failing to comply with the terms of a probation order relating to a 1985 conviction on charges of ... (Continue reading)
Written on 8 Apr, 1998 at 9:21 in
Activism | Author:
The pro-life community addresses itself to a myriad of issues, strategies and projects, but its unifying factor is each member's selfless commitment to life, to love and to one another in the movement.
In consideration of the unity issue, I was reminded of the chap who jumped to his feet in church
shouting out, "Praise the Lord." From across the aisle the reply came: ... (Continue reading)
Written on 8 Apr, 1998 at 8:17 in
Activism | Author:
British Columbia activist Jim Demers’s long-standing battle with the provincial government’s Access to Abortion Services Act may be coming to a close.
Demers, of Nelson, B.C., received a two-year suspended sentence in February for a series of protests outside Vancouver-area abortion clinics.
Provincial Court Judge Jack McGivern ruled that Demers would be arrested and fined up to $500 if he appears outside an abortuary over the next two years.... (Continue reading)
