TORONTO, September 5, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Last Thursday, a young woman who wished to forego her scheduled abortion appointment was taken by force from a pro-life counsellor. During the incident the pro-life counsellor was pepper sprayed by women who appeared to be associated with the Gerrard St., abortuary which specializes in late-term abortions. The 18-year-old woman, who was five months pregnant, sought pro-life counsel at Aid To Women, a pro-life counselling centre in Toronto. During her visit at the pro-life center the neighbouring abortuary, the Cabbagetown Women’s Clinic, learned of her presence and called the police at Toronto’s 51 Division. The young woman refused to speak to the abortuary staff who attempted to reach her at the pro-life centre. The young woman told the counselors she was an illegal immigrant and being coerced into the abortion by her boyfriend and the shelter at which she was staying. “Why would they force a girl like me to have an abortion, its so wrong,” she said to one of the counselors. She also said she did not wish to continue with her scheduled abortion even though she had commenced it the day before with insertion of lamenaria tents (which expand the cervix for the abortion). As the woman left the pro-life centre accompanied by pro-life workers, she was berated by an abortuary worker. Pro-life counsellor Robert Hinchey accompanied the woman to St. Michael’s hospital in order to have the lamenaria tents removed by a physician. At the hospital, police arrived to question the woman to see if she was there with Hinchey of her own free will. Satisfied, the police allowed the woman to return to the hospital waiting room with Hinchey.
Soon thereafter two large women approached Hinchey and the young woman in the waiting room demanding the woman come with them. A security guard at the hospital began to intervene to stop the women from forcing the pregnant woman to go with them against her will. The female thugs used pepper spray on Hinchey and took the young woman with them. The whole floor of the hospital medical centre had to be evacuated because of the effect of the spray.
Hours later, a female police officer from Toronto’s 51 Division spoke with Aid To Women director Joanne Dieleman telling her that the girl had changed her mind and decided to go ahead with the abortion. Charges were filed by Hinchey against his assailants, however, when asked if anything would come of the pepper spraying the officer said, “I don’t think so.” Pro-lifers have experienced many past incidents of serious harassment or indifference by 51 Division officers whom police and government authorities have refused to reprimand. A secretary at the medical clinic who identified herself as ‘Lydia’ acknowledged that the pepper spraying incident took place. However, calls to the hospital clinic manager and police at 51 Division were not returned by press time.
Dieleman told LifeSite that the very aggressive actions of the abortuary may have been motivated by the success the pro-life centre is having. Two days prior to the incident 4 women going in for abortions at the abortuary changed their minds after being offered help with their pregnancies by the Aid to Women.