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TORONTO, Ontario, 18 October, 12 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life heroines Linda Gibbons and Mary Wagner received medals from the Governor General of Canada this week in recognition of their “contribution to Canada”.

The activists are internationally renowned for having been arrested and jailed numerous times for violating abortion clinic ‘bubble zones,’ while peacefully seeking to council abortion-bound moms to choose life. In fact, Wagner is currently in jail, after her arrest in August for witnessing at the Woman’s care Clinic in Toronto.

“This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time,” said Gwen Landolt, national vice-president of REAL Women Canada, to LifeSiteNews (LSN).

“It’s wonderful news that someone has recognized the enormous contribution and dedication of these two women to the cause of life.”

Pro-life Member of Parliament Maurice Vellacott, who nominated the women for the award, told LSN that “like Martin Luther King and other human rights reformers, Mary [and Linda are] using civil disobedience to further a just cause.”

“Peaceful civil disobedience is an appropriate method when trying to protect defenseless, voiceless human beings in the womb from butchery and death.”

Vellacott said that the actions of these two women remind everyone that “I am my brother’s keeper.”

The Diamond Jubilee Medal commemorates the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. To celebrate the anniversary, the Governor General of Canada has awarded 60,000 medals that honor Canadians for significant contributions and achievements.

In the certificate accompanying each medal, Vellacott wrote:

Mary Wagner: Your faithful battle for justice for pre-born children, with your willingness to suffer hardship and personal deprivation, is a source of strength and inspiration for many. May God richly bless your sacrifice for these most innocent victims.

Linda Gibbons: Your faithful undying battle for justice for pre-born children, at great personal sacrifice, is a witness to all and a source of strength for many. May God richly bless your undying service for these innocent victims and may your legacy never be forgotten.

Linda Gibbons told LifeSiteNews that she was “surprised” to receive the award and that it “pleases me well”. Gibbons said that the Queen has been a “role model” for what it means to be a “doer and a shaker.”

“To me, the award signifies that we can do more with each other than we can do alone.”

Leeda Crawford, pro-life activist and Wagner’s close friend, told LifeSiteNews that the award indicates that there are “a lot of people in this country, including members of Parliament, who agree that it’s wrong to kill unborn children and who support Mary’s and Linda’s efforts to let pregnant women know that there are alternatives to abortion.”

Alissa Golob, head of Campaign Life Coalition Youth, said that she “cannot think of two other people who are more deserving of this award.”

“Both have sacrificed their freedom for the most vulnerable of our society. For that they deserved to be recognized.”

Landolt pointed out that if Henry Morgentaler, Canada’s ‘father of abortion’ who “kills for a living and destroys human life,” can receive the Order of Canada – Canada’s highest civilian honor – then “its about time that someone who fights to protect life gets recognized”.

“Linda and Mary have dedicated their lives to showing how current laws discriminate against children in the womb. What greater contribution can there be to one’s country than to speak for those who have no legal protection?” she said.

Earlier this week LSN reported the incredible story of how a woman in jail with Wagner recently went up to the pro-life activist and told her how she was in an abortion clinic during one of Wagner’s arrests, and that Wagner’s example convinced her to keep her baby. (Read that story here.)