Approximately 200 pro-life rescuers and supporters braved frigid temperatures December 29, 1989 to save young lives at the Scott abortuary in Toronto.
Pro-abortion demonstrators punched and pummeled the rescuers before police arrived and even afterward.
Evidently tipped off before the main force of rescuers arrived, a small, screaming group of pro-abortionists had occupied the steps leading up to the front door. Despite having hats pulled off and eye-glasses removed, the rescuers stood their ground, closing the abortuary until removed by the police at mid-day.
Police arrested 81 and took them to Division 51, from where they were released in groups before 3:00 p.m. the same day.
An unusual development for this rescue was the apparent on-site conversion of one of the pro-abortion demonstrators who, after lengthy discussion with some pro-lifers, admitted profound misgivings regarding his role with the pro-abortion group.
Police officers charged many with trespassing, but all charges were later dropped.
It was encouraging to see so many new faces among the rescuers, as well as seeing some new supporters turn to rescuing once they were on the site.
Much credit must go to the good numbers from not only the Toronto area, but from as far away as Sault St. Marie, North Bay, Niagara Falls, Peterborough, and Ottawa, to mention only a few. A solid cross-section of society was represented in those arrested including farmers, factory workers, students, medical doctors, dentists, teachers, clergy, and people from the business world.
The unifying element of the rescue is, as always, to save babies, help mothers, and by so doing give public testimony of society’s refusal to tolerate the killing of the innocent unborn.
John Devlin is a pro-life activist from Stratford, Ontario.
