TORONTO, Nov. 28 (LSN.ca) – Pro-life activists Linda Gibbons and Rosemary Connell were sentenced to one day in jail today after both were found guilty in a Toronto court on a charge of obstructing a peace officer. The charge had been laid in connection with their Oct. 17 challenge of the temporary court injunction establishing a 60-foot “bubble zone” around the Scott Clinic abortuary. Both pleaded not guilty. The judge also imposed a one-year probation period, which includes a provision that Gibbons and Connell stay at least 100 metres away from three Toronto abortuaries.
U.S. Lawyer John Broderick represented Gibbons, who remained mute throughout proceedings out of solidarity with the voiceless preborn. Defence lawyer Paul Vandervet, representing Connell, argued that his client could not be guilty of obstructing police because she was totally passive and did not offer any resistance. However, the judge disagreed, saying that simply disobeying a lawful order to leave the bubble zone was enough to constitute obstruction.
“There’s an acknowledgement that the position of Rosemary and Linda is principled,” said Vandervet after the trial. “There’s some respect starting to be shown, which maybe wasn’t there previously. Persistence is making a difference.”
See the Gibbons page on Lifesite https://www.lifesitenews.com/gibbons/index.html and photos of the most recent arrest https://www.lifesitenews.com/gibbons/oct1800photos.html