Three clergymen, two Catholic priests and a Baptist minister, were arrested for padlocking the Morgentaler abortuary on October 24, 29 and 31, respectively. Father Alphonse de Valk (53); Father Ted Colleton (72); and Rev. Fred Vaughn (59) were charged with “public mischief.” The trial date for all three has been set for December 9. Father de Valk, the first of the trio [...]
It was a long, hard fight, but for the pro-lifers of Ste. Thérèse, it was worth the effort. It started in the early months of 1985, when the Local Community Service Centre in Ste. Thérèse decided to offer abortion as one of its services, as many other LCSCs are doing in Quebec, with the support of the Quebec Department of social Affairs, [...]
Pro-lifers listened in shock as a police officer testified in a Toronto courtroom that the officers have orders from Chief Jack Marks not to arrest the Harbord Street abortionists on charges relating to Section 251 of the Criminal Code. The testimony came during the trial of five pro-lifers on November 20. The five, Barbara and Tom Brown, Antonio Conhoto, Stephen Jalsevac, and [...]
The correct address for the newly-formed Birth Control Victims Association, featured in last month’s issue of The Interim is: Unit 14, Four Winds Drive, Downsview, Ontario M3J 1K7, (416) 661-6935
On August 27, 1985 a Toronto based group of teaches held its first organizational meeting to form metro Toronto’s first “Teachers for Life.” A second Ontario chapter for South Western Ontario is under way in Sarnia, led by Jim Sekerak of St. Patrick’s High School. Initiated by Father Alphonse de Valk and concerned teacher Louise Di Rocco, the group is responding to [...]
Surrey-Delta Pro-Life’s recent pamphlet blitz saved the life of at least one baby in the area. The group designed a pamphlet for door-to-door distribution throughout the area: 100,000 pamphlets were printed, at a cost of just over $4,500. Distribution through the post office was rejected as the cost was too high and the group relied on volunteers to do the postman’s work. [...]
On September 21, the day of the giant pro-life rally in Toronto, Artists for Life held their first group show in the gymnasium of St. Joseph’s College School on Wellesley Street. According to spokesman Paul Arteau, one of the exhibitors, it was an unqualified success. “We had over 200 people sign our guest book and more than 3,000 came through to view [...]
Patraig G. O’Mathuna, a registered nurse, and insurance agent, Tom Brown, have both been recently assaulted by the same man in the vicinity of the abortuary while picketing. David Butt, who has been seen coming and going from Ultra Word Processing, a business in the area, was witnessed attacking both men on separate occasions. Police have refused to lay charges of assault [...]
On October 15, in courtroom 124 in Toronto’s Old City Hall, Father Lawrence Abello won an acquittal on the charge that he had “caused a disturbance by shouting” at the back of the Harbord Street abortuary in Toronto. (See p.1, The Interim, September 1985.) The judge agreed with defence counsel that Father Abello was not guilty of the charge laid by Metro [...]
On Thursday October 10, Irene Morel, a housewife from Parry Sound, Ontario, attempted a citizen’s arrest of Ontario Cabinet Minister Sean Conway in the Ontario Legislature. She was unsuccessful, but according to police, it was the first time anyone had ever attempted such an action. Mrs. Morel, 48, part-time journalist for the Toronto Star and some regional publications, had come to Toronto [...]
Ontario pro-lifers have vowed that Premier Peterson will not be allowed to forget that there is an illegal abortuary operating in the province. Many have stated that they will picket him wherever he goes in the province. A central grievance with the Premier is that he signed a statement prior to the election stating that he would close the illegal abortuary if [...]
On Friday, October 18, the first pro-life supporter was jailed for protesting the illegal operation of the Morgentaler abortuary in Toronto. Judge Anthony Charlton of the Ontario Provincial Court sentenced Daniel McCash to jail for five days. Mr. McCash, who has no previous convictions, was charged on July 22nd. with causing a disturbance by shouting. His offence consisted of shouting at two [...]
On the last day of summer, tens of thousands of Ontarians gathered at Queen’s Park in Toronto to voice their support for life. The September 21 “Justice for the Unborn” rally in front the Ontario legislature was followed by a 15-block walk through downtown Toronto, which led past the Morgentaler abortion clinic on Harbord Street. The turnout, estimated by Campaign Life president [...]
“I hate picketing” Join the club, so do I! Through all the years of my conscious life, I have looked askance at picketers. Rallies are different. Whenever I saw a crowd of a few thousand people something or defending something, I often felt I could join them and get lost in the throng. But 10 or 20 people walking up and down [...]
It has been 10 years since I first decided the IUD was the best possible form of birth control. The Pill, in my mind, was just another medication and all medications have side-effects. Hence, for me, the Pill was out. When I made my decision, I was assured by statistics and the medical profession that the IUD would work. When I asked [...]