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PRO-LIFERS PERSECUTED IN CANADA AND THE US

(LSN) - In Canada last year, sixty-year old grandmother and pro-life activist Cecilia von Dehn was knocked down, punched, kicked and grabbed by a group of feminists at the November 19 International Women's Day (IWD) meeting held in the same building that houses the Vancouver Status of Women (VSW). Mrs. von Dehn's associate, Peggy Holland, was also assaulted. Police investigated, but despite their recommendation that criminal charges be laid, administrative crown counsel Elizabeth Wolfram ruled, last week, that Mrs. von Dehn and Mrs. Holland were at least partially responsible for the beating and thus charges will not be laid.

Mrs. von Dehn, a registered nurse and midwife who works with a nurses patients' rights group called PRICE was stunned by the decision and has appealed to regional crown counsel Robert Wright, stating that she did nothing to provoke the attack. She and Mrs. Holland plan to launch a civil suit and seek damages for their injuries. The two haven't yet seen the police report, but they intend to secure it as a key element of their civil action.

In the US, Janet Greenhut, a volunteer for Birthright in Maywood, where she drove pregnant young women to prenatal appointments was issued death threats in two midnight phone calls. According to the police transcript of a tape from Janet's answering machine, in January of 1995, Alice Hand, a pro-abortion advocate said: "Janet, get your pro-lifers away from our clinics or we will kill you," she called back later to say, "You will be killed".

Mrs. Greenhut's attorney sent a copy of her case to federal officials, hoping they would file suit on her behalf. He never heard back. Justice Department spokeswoman Lee Douglas refused to comment on the case. Thus Mrs. Greenhut is bringing forward the case on her own.

Canadian and US law institutions appear to be developing an alarming bias in their actions, immediately responding to alleged threats against abortion supporters while ignoring or giving very low priority to attacks or threats against abortion opponents.

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