Linda Gibbons a “national icon”

By Axa Estrella Bolaños-Reicher

ALBERTA – This past November Street Church was particularily glad to welcome anti-abortion activist Linda Gibbons as she embarks on a journey and commitment to raise funds for imprisoned pro-lifer Mary Wagner’s legal defence that will help her court battle to change the legal status of the humans conceived but not yet born in Canada.

Linda Gibbons is what could be called a “national icon” and she is recognized as an outstanding and exemplary pro-life advocate and even though she spent over 10 years in jail for carrying out her belief to influence and protect future generations, it is clearly evident of how strongly she still feels against the issue of abortion and on her pursuit of her mission to continue to stand to defend the lives of the most vulnerable whenever necessary regardless of the outcome.

During her visit to Calgary, Street Church had the privilege to honour her in a White Hat Ceremony as a symbol of the Western hospitality and on that same occasion she had the opportunity to continue to advocate life and speak out against one of the greatest human rights violations of our times such as abortion as well as presenting her side of the story behind bars to a small group of about 30 and then on that same evening she also spoke to yet a larger group of about 200 people in the performance hall of Centre Street Church.

Lawrence Irwin, Artur Pawlowski and Linda Gibbons

Statement from MP Rob Anders read by his representative in support of Linda Gibbons and her advocacy work for the unborn citizens of Canada.

Mary Wagner has been incarcerated in an Ontario jail for the last 14 months as a consequence of her loving and pacifist interactions with pregnant women in her attempt to spare children from being aborted at a Toronto abortion clinic and she is currently awaiting trial on charges of breach of a court order and “mischief”: interference with lawful enjoyment/operation of a business, the “business” being abortion.

Abortion was illegal in Canada until 1969 but now Canada is one of the very few countries in the world that has NO criminal law governing or restricting the subject which means that the women consenting an abortion and the health personnel who perform them are not to stand trial, and although regulations and accessibility may differ between provinces, abortion is an unrestricted medical procedure entitled to be performed all through the nine months of pregnancy as well as insured and a funded service by the Canada Health Act, and regarding to the total number of abortions performed in the country, Canada’s legal abortion rate is about 100,000 abortions a year.

Both Linda Gibbons and Mary Wagner believe in a better society and feel committed to fight this cause with all their might, without ever succumbing to discouragement or temptation to give up or quit because after all, their struggle is an imperative commitment to life and human rights since abortion means ending the life of a human being.

Mary Wagner’s, attorney, Dr. Charles Lugosi has been working hard to prepare her defense focusing on prenatal life as a person with the right to legal protection. Donations can be made payable to: Mary Wagner Legal Defense Fund in any Bank of Montreal in Canada; Account 3 0319 8991-017. Please request that the deposit be a “credit memo”; this will assist in bookeeping, or make donations payable to Mary Wagner Legal Defense — and mail to: Mary Wagner Legal Defense Fund, c/o Bank ofMontreal, 295 Boler Rd., London, ON N6K 2K1.

House meeting