The War Against Pro-Lifers

I have written numerous times about how those who dare to stand against the militant homosexual juggernaut are being targeted, persecuted and attacked by the activists and their supporters in the powers that be. But these people are not the only ones to feel this wave of aggression and hate.

Pro-lifers have also over the years experienced their fair share of abuse. They too have been targeted, and they also know what it is like to feel the wrath of their opponents. Those who dare to speak up for the rights of the unborn are often subject to harassment, persecution and even the heavy hand of the law.

There are plenty of examples of this. Let me highlight just two of them here. The first comes from the People’s Republik of Toronto: that city known for its tolerance and openness – of all the wrong causes that is. Canada as a whole is amongst the most PC nations on earth, and the city of Toronto and the province of Ontario lead the way here.

This is how the story goes: “An Ontario Court of Justice judge erupted in a lengthy, angry tirade against pro-life activist Mary Wagner – and ejected a spectator from the public gallery – in a downtown Toronto courtroom Wednesday. The judge then sent Wagner to jail for an additional 92 days, added to 88 days already served prior to trial, after finding her guilty of mischief and two counts of failing to comply with probation orders.

“The charges related to Wagner’s November 8 arrest at the site of the Bloor West Village ‘Women’s Clinic.’ Wagner has been arrested on several occasions for peacefully entering abortion facilities in Toronto, where she presents women in the waiting room with a rose and offers them pro-life counseling.

“The remarkable scene played itself out after Crown attorney Derek Ishak and defense counsel Russell Browne made a joint submission to Mr. Justice S. Ford Clements for time served plus a three-year probationary term. But Clements emphatically rejected the submission. ‘She can sit in jail, if that’s the only way to protect people,’ he fulminated, calling Wagner ‘cowardly’ for ‘abusing other human beings’ and not having the courage to make her views known through other channels. ‘This is an extraordinary waste of resources. Get a grip!’

“‘You don’t get it, do you? What’s the rule of law? You’re required to abide by it … You’ve lost the right as a citizen to be anywhere near an abortion clinic or to speak to an employee,’ he said. ‘You’re wrong and your God’s wrong,’ he continued. ‘You have complete contempt … There is a right to (abortion) in this country … You don’t have a right to cause (abortion-seeking women) extra pain and grief the way you do.’

“‘[Abortion] is legal,’ he continued, ‘that’s all you have to understand … You start causing people emotional pain and harm, you think that’s okay?’ He then asked Wagner whether she would stay away from abortion sites for three years as required by the proposed terms of probation. ‘I will not,’ Wagner replied firmly. ‘Then you’re going to jail,’ said Clements.

“Earlier, one of Wagner’s supporters in the public gallery spoke up and was addressed by Clements. ‘These (life issues) are deeply held beliefs. We respect the rule of law. There are ways to change the law. The rule of law is absolutely fundamental. We see what happens in the streets when the rule of law is ignored,’ he said. ‘You wouldn’t like someone in your vestibule every night. People who can’t deal with that, we lock them up.’ When the man attempted to reply, he was ejected from the courtroom by Clements.”

Wow, that judge sure sounds like one ugly and diabolical dude. He obviously hates Christians and pro-lifers big time, and will use – or abuse – his position of power to persecute these folks all he can. Mary rightly points out that at times we must oppose unjust laws:

“Asked whether she had anything to say prior to sentencing, Wagner said she saw the rule of law as a guidepost, not an absolute. ‘The letter of the law does not always maintain justice … abortion is a short-term solution but causes long-term pain,’ she said.

“She added she never acts out of a lack of sensitivity, but rather attempts to love the women to whom she speaks. She also pointed to examples from history where people who were initially regarded as criminals were later found to be in the right.”

The rule of law is a fundamental part of Western democratic rule. But we know that there is a higher law which we all must ultimately appeal to. When human laws directly violate God’s laws, then Christians have an obligation to stand up and resist such unjust laws, and also be willing to face the consequences of such resistance.

As Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.”

I have spoken before about the topic of civil disobedience, especially in relation to the abortion issue: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2009/05/06/abortion-and-civil-disobedience/

Needless to say, Mary needs our prayers and our support. You can write to her in prison:
Mary Wagner
Vanier Centre for Women
655 Martin St., Box 1040
Milton, ON   L9T 5E6
CANADA

The other story is a bit closer to home. A pro-lifer who has a pro-life poster in a shop front window in NSW has been ordered to remove it by the local council. Even more alarming, this is a privately-owned Catholic bookstore! Yet they seem to be not allowed to promote their own material. The story goes like this:

“Unbelievable abuse of power by the Albury City Council to get me to take down the Life is Beautiful timeline of human development in a shop window. They have refused to specify how my display breaches the development consent approved by them almost five years ago. Now Albury City Council will have to decide whether to proceed with a letter issuing an order, or otherwise not to make the order. Orders that are made may be appealed to the Land and Environment court within 28 days of service of an order. An appeal against an order does not operate to stay the order. Penalties apply for failing to comply with an order. Which means, if they issue an order, I have to take it down, hire a barrister and appeal it. If I win, I can put it back up. Time for action.”

This seems to be a clear case of a local council overstepping the mark to censor points of view it is not happy with. This case is ongoing, and I will keep you abreast of developments. And there would be other examples of this sort of thing.

Increasingly it is getting more and more difficult to take a prolife stance in public. To do so is becoming ever more risky, especially when the powers that be are hostile to pro-life, pro-faith, and pro-family values. But we must continue to speak up and let our voices be heard.

We may have to take more flak for this in the future, and even face jail terms as Mary has. But we must never remain silent about gross injustice. And surely the killing of unborn babies is among the most unjust action there is. As Abraham Lincoln once said: “Silence makes cowards out of the best of men.”

Or as Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel had put it, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

That is most certainly true in the abortion debate.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/your-gods-wrong-judge-erupts-in-angry-tirade-sends-pro-life-activist-back-t
http://lifenetworkaustralia.designexperts.com.au/_blog/Latest_News/post/Since_when_did_pro_aborts_%27have_the_monopoly%27_on_human_development_in_the_womb/

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15 Replies to “The War Against Pro-Lifers”

  1. I knew about the Canada one, but not the one in Albury. It is certainly getting worse by the day, how long I wonder until they send in the brown shirts to churches and drag religious people off to the camps for reeducation or deletion.

    We desperately need to fast and pray long and hard for endurance until the end, is all I can say.

    Neil Waldron

  2. Thanks Bill.
    I have penned the following letter, which I will post at the earliest opportunity. I only hope it doesn’t get censored!

    Dear Miss Wagner,
    I heard about your case through a local website, hosted by Bill Muehlenberg (www.billmuehlenberg.com) here in Melbourne,
    Australia. Let me say how saddened I am to hear of your plight, and of the judge’s contemptuous comments about “your God”.

    Please be assured of my prayers and support, even from this distance. Your stand, even to time in prison, will inspire many to stand with you. Remember that our God is the author of justice, and He will bring justice to light through His Servant and our Saviour in His good time (Isaiah 42:1, 4). Our world has forsaken the living God, and hence justice and truth are turned back (Isaiah 59:14-15), even from our law courts – indeed, most especially from our law courts, dominated as they are by the godless Left.

    Meanwhile, endure suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3), for great is your reward before the Great Judge of all.

    Your Christian brother
    Murray R. Adamthwaite

  3. Many thanks Murray

    Well done – great letter. I hope many more readers here go and do likewise. I hope Mary gets flooded with these letters, and the judge and jail get a clear message.

    Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

  4. During the 40 Days of Life Campaign in Perth there are a few small low-key signs that are being displayed outside one particular abortion clinic. One of the signs portrays a mother holding her baby. Apparently this picture was upsetting the clients coming in to the clinic, so the police were called and all the signs were taken away. On investigation the police decided that these signs were not at all offensive; they liked them in fact – and all the signs were returned – dated and signed by the police!

    We see the faces of the mothers who come out of the clinic ‘un-pregnant.’ Some vomit, some cry. They usually walk hunched over. They all appear distraught although some do try to hide it, like the anguished girl who responded to her companion’s high-five as they walked past us this morning … so sad.

    On a happier note there have been 9 babies saved during the Perth 40 Days vigil that we know of!

    Annette Nestor

  5. I have to say that entering into the realm of pro-life campaigning was the most emotionally draining undertaking of my life. Being the very average person I am I had very little stamina; but the people I met are burned in my memory. Those who stand up against this evil have my deepest respect and are heroes in the truest sense of the word.
    Mary Wagner sounds like a giant among people. with tears in my eye’s I pray blessings upon her.
    Russell Boden, UK

  6. Yes I’ll write to Mary and will certainly pray for her, also for the poor wretched judge. May God have mercy on him and change his heart.
    Anna Cook

  7. My wife and I will write to Mary and pray for her every day. I believe she is due for release some time in June. I hope we hear more of her. She joins an elite group – those jailed for trying to save somebody’s life. God bless you Mary.
    B T Walters

  8. The ancient Canaanites sacrificed their children to their gods. The Israelites were warned not to mimic this “abomination”. When they did engage in this practice, God handed them over to their enemies.

    Psalm 106
    37They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;
    38they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
    whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was polluted with blood.
    39Thus they became unclean by their acts,
    and played the whore in their deeds.

    40Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
    41he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
    42Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.

    What are gods of the West? Surely they include gods of hedonism and self-centredness. The militant abortion lobby claims it is protecting women’s rights or health or own body. No they’re not. All these excuses are about women’s rights to engage collectively in genocide so that their lifestyles can continue unencumbered. Like civilizations and nations past, we will not escape God’s judgement for our rampant killing of the defenceless unborn. The abortion industry can and often does harm women, physically and psychologically.

    The judge who has treated Mary Wagner in this way has acted against her in an aggressively pro abortion way, defending his action as upholding the law. When he was a child, most likely laws were good because they were based upon our Judeo-Christian heritage. The result of secularism is human-centric laws that cannot and will not acknowledge God’s laws which are ultimately for our best.

    There are some wonderful politicians who show courage and determination as they defend an Australia steeped in Christian values -the ONLY way forward for us. Politicians who instigate and defend evil laws will one day be answerable to God, not to mention to the civilizations they help bring down. I suppose we could look up the names of the politicians in the British Parliament in the 18th-19th century who resisted William Wilberforce in his battle to change evil laws to end the slave trade.

    ‘the rule of law (is) a guidepost, not an absolute’ and Mary’s words couldn’t be more true, ‘The letter of the law does not always maintain justice … abortion is a short-term solution but causes long-term pain.’

    Angela Parham

  9. Praise God and may He bless Mary,
    She has shown a wonderful, and powerful, proper understanding of the distinction between the kingdom of the right hand and the kingdom of the left. I pray we all learn from her example.

    “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” -II Corinthians 10:5

    Raymond Cox

  10. If the Albury council demand for the sign to be removed stands unchallenged, then things are certainly worse in Australia than I thought. We have had issues in our council, the flouride issue, people being fined for cutting down black wattle, public liability insurance required for buskers are only a few minor ones. but this takes the cake so far and is utterly undefendable on any insurance-liability or LEP grounds, at least as far as I am aware. I can imagine this person feels very powerless in the face of such threats dressed up in some kind of legal claim. I read the article indicated in the text of this one and all the comments and it seems that people are looking for a bit of support from like-minded Christians, I mean tangible support, financial, legal support that kind of thing. I would like to write to the person facing this bullying under the guise of “council regulations” and assure them of our prayer support, but who would be willing to defy such orders without the knowledge of practical support behind them?
    Many blessings
    Ursula Bennett

  11. Is there such a thing as a Christian Defence Fund in Australia? I would give money each month to support such a venture.

    Imagine if the Catholic bookstore could have a legal team free of charge to fight its case.

    Lucy Zubova

  12. There are many such groups in the US Lucy but unfortunately none that I know of here in Australia. There should be however.

    Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

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