Toronto pro-life advocate lands in jail—again
TORONTO, ON—Pro-life advocate Linda Gibbons spent Christmas in the same place she's spent much of the past 17 years: in jail.
Gibbons, 63, was arrested December 16, 2011, in front of the Morgentaler abortion clinic in Toronto. She was charged with disobeying a court order and obstructing a police officer, says her lawyer Daniel Santoro.
Gibbons has consistently ignored the 1994 temporary injunction that forbids protesters to get within 150 meters of the clinic. With about 20 arrests over the past 17 years, she has spent, cumulatively, about nine years in prison for breaking the injunction.
Ironically, this last arrest took place two days after Santoro took her case to the Supreme Court of Canada. There, he argued that Gibbons was being abused by the criminal justice system and that her case should have been dealt with through the civil courts.
"It is rare for the criminal courts to pursue a single case of someone breaking a civil injunction for so long," Santoro told the National Post. The Post also reported "he has argued in the past that the Crown knew it could not make a civil case for a permanent injunction and so has dodged the issue by charging Gibbons under the Criminal Code."
With the arguments now presented at the Supreme Court, Santoro says it's become a matter of waiting for a decision. A webcast of the argument can be found on the court's website.
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
