Canada
The B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Cecilia “Sissy” Von Dehn and Donald Spratt’s 2011 conviction in provincial court following a 2009 arrest for standing inside the bubble zone outside the Everywoman`s abortuary in Vancouver as they distributed copies of the B.C. Access to Abortion Services Act (which governs the bubble zone) and wearing a sign reading: “Warning! You are in a bubble zone. You can be arrested under Bill 48.” They argue that they are not violating the law because they are not raising the abortion issue, but rather educating the public about the anti-free speech law. Justice John E. Hall, writing the unanimous decision, joined by Justices Daphne M. Smith and David Franklin Tysoe, said “a certain amount of realism is requisite in assessing these matters,” explaining, “the location is what makes their conduct impermissible.” Hall said abortion workers and clients are “vulnerable to harassment” … Faith Today examined the question “why is it so hard to talk about abortion in Canada,” in it’s May/June edition. Veronique Bergeron, a pro-life blogger who also works as a parliamentary assistant, says it is because feelings trump facts in the abortion debate … The University of Toronto has attracted attention after including a reference to “sexual minorities“ in an online job application, encouraging potential employees to voluntarily disclose their sexual orientation. According to the university’s website, the inclusion of this information is connected to university policies, not existing equity laws. Andrew Lawton of the Landmark Report, who broke the story, says that the university has “gone out of its way to put sexuality on the table.”
United States
Pro-life and pro-family groups are being targeted by the International Revenue Service (IRS) for speaking out against President Barack Obama and agencies he favours, including Planned Parenthood. Sue Martinek, president of Coalition for Life of Iowa, says that her organization’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt application could not be processed unless each board member signed “a letter stating we would not protest Planned Parenthood.” King’s College sociologist Anne Hendershott, author of The Politics of Abortion has ceased her criticism of Obamacare, saying “when you think the IRS has the power to destroy your family, your livelihood and to take away your property, you don’t want to make them mad” … The Florida Senate unanimously passed a bill guaranteeing protection to babies born alive after botched abortions. “Florida legislators are an example to the rest of the nation of courageous leadership on behalf of Life,” stated Americans United for Life president Charmaine Yoest … In a Live Action undercover video, abortionist LeRoy Carhart compares carrying a dead baby inside the womb for three days to “putting meat in a Crock-Pot.” Jennifer Morbelli, one of Carhart’s patients, died in February from a 33-week botched abortion … Pro-life businesses are being warned by the National Right to Life Committee about participating in Obamacare small business exchanges, as only about 20 states allow owners to choose health plans for their employees and thus opt out of subsidizing elective abortions … Drawing on recent incidents of children being punished for making or displaying images of guns, rock star Ted Nugent writes in a column for WorldNetDaily.com that if a child wore a T-shirt claiming he or she supported abortion like Obama, “that would be just fine…even though abortion, not guns, is what’s eliminating the inner-city population.”
International
The draft bill created by the Irish government legalizing abortion would abolish portions of the Offences Against The Person Act 1861 that make abortion a criminal offence. It will permit abortion if the mother is suicidal and deny protection to the unborn before implantation. John Smeaton, the director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, wrote on his blog that the bill “is worse (than) Britain’s 1967 Abortion Act” … David Brewer, a city councilor in Cornwall, England, has come under fire for saying that disabled children should be “dealt with” in a manner similar to deformed livestock. Brewer is facing the ire of British disability rights organizations for comments such as “if (farmers) have a misshapen lamb, they get rid of it. They get rid of it. Bang” … British MP Fiona Bruce, the vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-life Group, and Chris Whitehouse, a trustee of the Right to Life Charitable Trust, presented blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, a critic of Red China’s one-child policy, with the Westminster Award for defending “human rights, human life and human dignity” … Accusing patient Xiao Cai of not paying enough money for an abortion, an abortionist from Min’ai Hospital in Henggan, Red China blackmailed her with photos taken while she was undressing for the procedure. After police were called, the hospital returned the extra money and apologized.