Seven pro-life families from B.C. have been slapped with liens against their homes as the result of a court case three years ago.
The action, which came just in time for Christmas, resulted from a decision made by the B.C. Court of Appeal in 1990. Protesters at an abortion clinic had been trying to get their sentences over-turned but were rejected by the courts. The Court of Appeal ruled they would have to pay court costs to the abortion clinic.
John Hof, president of Campaign Life Coalition B.C., says he and the six other protesters “made our refusal quite clear three years ago” but received no correspondence since that time. Then came the lawyer’s letter on behalf of the Everywoman’s Health Clinic demanding $44,795.91 for costs incurred during the trial.
Hof says he had to break the news to his family that his home is in jeopardy.
“How do I break the news to them that an abortion mill is forcing us out of our home and that we have no place to go?” he asks. He speculates on the timing of the liens and says pro-lifers in the provinces suspect that the issuing of the liens was done deliberately to coincide with the Christmas season.
The abortion clinic will only be able to collect on the lien if Hof decides to sell his house. At that point, they will be able to take the value of the court costs out of the selling price of the house.
