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CLEAR ABUSE OF LEGAL PROCESS IN CHARGES AGAINST LINDA GIBBONS,

TORONTO, Sept 9 (LSN) - Today, Linda Gibbons, the fearless defender of the right to life for the unborn, resumed her ministry to preborn babies and their mothers outside of the Scott abortuary on Gerrard St. in Toronto. She very peacefully and lovingly tries to counsel distressed pregnant women by offering them one last chance to spare themselves the pain of an abortion and save the lives of their babies.

Joining Linda were Reverend Ken Campbell and Annaliese Stedan. A total of nine police officers, in six police vehicles and one motorcycle, turned up at the request of abortuary staff to stop this pro-life action. When the Sheriff arrived, Linda was read the injunction banning any pro-life actions within 60 feet of the abortuary. As is her usual practice, Linda imitated the preborn victims of abortion by remaining silent and went limp as the officers carried her off to jail. Rev. Campbell and Mrs. Stedan left the restricted zone temporarily only to return later and face arrest as well.

Despite the fact that Linda has served almost four years in prison for refusing to obey the injunction, she has never actually been charged with breaking the injunction and thus has never been granted an opportunity to challenge the injunction in a court of law as is due legal process.

In order to attain a challenge to the unjust injunction, Rev. Campbell attempted to be charged with violating the injunction last September. At the time of his arrest at the Scott abortuary on September 2 last year, he was charged with the proper charge of disobeying a court order but two months later, the charge was changed, without explanation, to obstruction.

On July 15, Campbell was acquitted of obstructing police by Judge Milton Cadsby, who informed the Crown that there was no evidence to suggest that Campbell had obstructed anybody. Moreover, Judge Cadsby noted that the injunction was supposed to be temporary but had already been in effect for four years. "Don't you think it's about time that it be settled?," he asked the Crown.

Although at the time of Judge Cadsby's ruling, a detective at 51 Division conceded that from then on "the only charge that can be laid (in such cases) is disobeying a court order," Linda, Rev. Campbell and Annaliese Stedan were all arrested today and taken into custody, none being charged with breaking the injunction. All threee were eventually charged with "obstructing a peace officer."

Despite the disturbing news of the arrests and the treatment of the pro-lifers as uncooperative criminals at the hands of police, pro-life legal advisors suggest the new arrests may be a positive development. Steve Jalsevac of Campaign Life Coalition notes that in light of Judge Cadsby's statements, today's arrests provide the clearest evidence yet of abuse of the legal process by the police and provide hope that there may be a resolution to the injunction situation.

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