It is a cool, cloudy Friday morning in mid-July. It has rained throughout the night. The seagulls soar high above the wet pavement of Harbord Street in search of food.
Its about ten thirty and two courageous pro-life counselors maintain their lonely vigil at the rear of the Morgentaler abortuary. They have been there since eight o’clock, and have been drenched by the early morning rain.
The back gate remains locked. The staff do not arrive as they have four days previously. The abortuary is closed today. Perhaps ten babies will have had their death sentences stayed until Monday morning. Some fifty babies have died since last Monday, and the blue clad minion of law stand sentinel. Silent, armed with open revolvers, and clubs. Their strong bodies not to be applied to saving tiny children from death, but to give solace to those who destroy the innocent.
A group of pro-lifers have arrived from a church in west Toronto. A family group. Moms and dads, young children, and teenagers.
Little Leslie was one of the group. A tiny, cherub-faced girl with short cropped blond hair, big blue eyes, and big rosy cheeks. She carried lovingly in her arms a scruffy, old Raggedy Anne doll.
Her daddy took Raggedy Anne and sat her on the sill of the abortuary’s front window. Leslie’s face beamed with joy, as if somehow her doll symbolized the silent dignity of the unborn children who have been so callously destroyed behind that window.
A corpulent, foul-tempered, police officer swaggered up to the group of children and their parents. He towered over them and began orating about law and order. “Get Raggedy Anne off that window. She’s breaking the law.” He threatened to charge those responsible. The officer had an ugly sneer on his chubby, ill-shaven face, and seemed to take uncommon pleasure in bullying young children and decent family people.
Is this how Toronto’s “finest” serve and protect the people? By intimidating young children and their families? By standing idle while the laws of Canada are violated and innocent unborn children are slaughtered for profit?
Is it not enough of an insult for a force dedicated and sworn to uphold the law to be standing guard over an illegitimate human abattoir? Must the police disgrace themselves further by willingly and cheerfully acting as doormen, ushers and escorts for women being led to their ruin, and their children butchered for the price of a new colour television set.
These “law enforcers” will tell you that they are simply keeping the peace at 85 Harbord Street. In reality they are keeping the violence. The violence that extinguished fifty human lives this week. It seemed to me at the time that I recalled the Romans making the same claim. Pax Romana, they called it. The same “peace” that tortured and murdered God on a cross.
Leslie said it in her own way “Please…don’t kill any more babies.” Her Raggedy Anne doll still sits on Morgentaler’s window sill as a silent witness to the brutality and ignorance of man. She is the spirit of Rachel’s murdered children. They once were, but are not more.
David Lloyd is Picket Co-ordinator for Campaign Life.
Marks protest
On Friday August 2 about 12 people protested in front of Police Chief Marks’ office at Toronto Police Headquarters at Jarvis and Charles Streets. They were protesting that Marks is not doing his job in not closing the illegal abortuary on Harbord Street. One protestor commented “He can’t even keep his word. He said he would explain the law to Reverend Campbell who tried to make citizen’s arrests earlier this week but he has not done so.” They picketed for one hour from 12:00 – 1:00 pm.
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