OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — Campaign Life Coalition National President Jeff Gunnarson today pleaded on the steps of the Supreme Court of Canada for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to finally work with Parliament to pass laws protecting pre-born children – 35 years after the 1988 R v. Morgentaler decision stripped away all rights of the unborn.
In the event, which was livestreamed by CLC, Gunnarson can be seen standing in front of the Supreme Court building as pro-lifers hold signs behind him to voice their support.
“Dear Prime Minister,” began Gunnarson, “Saturday, January 28 marks 35 years since the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a decision that has impacted, and continues to impact, the lives of millions of Canadians.”
“In the 1988 R v. Morgentaler decision, our country’s top court threw out the previous 1969 abortion law, put in place by your father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, deeming it ‘unconstitutional.’ The majority opinion was that the procedural requirements for an abortion violated a woman’s Charter right to ‘security of the person,’ though two of the seven justices dissented,” lamented the pro-life leader.
“The ruling, which was rife with faults, effectively removed every obstacle barring pregnant mothers from obtaining an abortion. This allowed mothers to kill their preborn children at any stage during the pregnancy, for any reason at all. And, sadly, millions of Canadian mothers have chosen to destroy the new human lives growing and developing inside of them.”
UPDATE (1/24/23):
Pro-life priest and Red Rose Rescuer Fr. Fidelis Moscinski has been found guilty of violating the Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
Yesterday Fr. Fidelis was convicted of the federal crime for a July 2022 “lock and block” rescue he conducted at a Planned Parenthood in Hempstead, New York. The priest is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24 and faces up to six months in federal prison.
Sign the petition to let Fr. Fidelis know you support him and are praying for him.
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UPDATE (10/26/22):
A Pennsylvania court issued a split ruling against a pro-life Franciscan priest and activist arrested after he entered an abortion clinic to help women choose life.
Father Christopher “Fidelis” Moscinski was found guilty of two misdemeanor charges and not guilty of a felony trespass and a misdemeanor resist, for participating in a Red Rose Rescue at a Planned Parenthood.
Fr. Moscinski entered the clinic on August 27, 2021 with red roses and pro-life literature ready to hand out to women and persuading them to choose life for their children.
Fr. Fidelis has participated in many Red Rose Rescues at abortion centers, and for this has been imprisoned multiple times.
He was also previously arrested for trying to save babies in Ohio in June 2021 and in New Jersey in January 2020.
After the court decision, Fr. Fidelis urged people to “continue keeping all pro-lifers anywhere who are facing charges, especially federal charges, in your prayers, and that God can bring some good out of this unjust persecution.”
Sign this petition today to let Fr. Fidelis know you stand with him and his heroic fight to save unborn lives from abortion.
Fellow pro-life activist and Red Rose Rescuer Will Goodman told LifeSite’s Jim Hale that the court’s ruling to drop one felony and reject another was a “big victory.”But the crackdown on pro-lifers continues!
Just recently the Biden administration targeted Fr. Fidelis and other pro-life activists for Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) violation charges.
This same law was also used by the FBI to raid the home of pro-life Catholic dad Mark Houck last month.
It’s really a disgrace that in America pro-lifers are increasingly being attacked and persecuted simply because they stand for life.
Fr. Fidelis Moscinski needs your prayers and support now more than ever as he continues to fearlessly battle for the unborn.
SIGN THIS PETITION TODAY to tell Fr. Fidelis you stand with him and his courageous fight!
MORE INFORMATION:
‘Big victory’: Felonies tossed in split verdict for priest attempting rescue of unborn
BREAKING NEWS: Father Fidelis Legal Verdict reaction LIVE by Legal team
FBI charges pro-life priest with violating abortion access law one week after Mark Houck raid
During the reading of the letter, Gunnarson explained that unlike the U.S. Supreme Court’s now-overturned Roe v. Wade decision, Canada’s R v. Morgentaler did not enshrine abortion as a “right,” and in fact, the justices on the court at the time were “unanimous in finding that the state has an interest in protecting the lives of humans in the womb.”
“The Supreme Court justices did not want the Canada we live in today when it comes to abortion,” outlined Gunnarson, quoting then-Chief Justice Brian Dickson and Justice Antonio Lamer, who wrote concurrently: “Like [Justice Jean] Beetz and [Justice Bertha] Wilson, I agree that protection of foetal interests by Parliament is also a valid governmental objective.”
Noting that the majority of the opinion of the court ruled that the “solution” to the “abortion question” must “be left to Parliament,” Gunnarson lamented the fact that “Parliament has yet to honor the Supreme Court’s invitation that it pass legislation protecting life in the womb.”
“Prime Minister,” Gunnarson pleaded. “I call upon you and upon Parliament to follow the invitation of the Supreme Court and pass legislation protecting children in the womb. Such legislation must reflect what science and medical advancements reveal to us about life in the womb, namely, that it is a fully human life. Such legislation, if it is to truly remedy the current wrongs suffered by preborn humans, must restore their legal protection from the first moment of their existence.”
“It has been said that a nation will be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members,” he continued. “Prime Minister, I present to you the preborn human child, the most vulnerable among us. These smallest members of the human family are waiting on you and on Parliament to act on their behalf. I ask you, please, stand up for them.”
“God bless you, and God bless Canada,” Gunnarson concluded.
At the end of the livestream, it was announced that Gunnarson will be walking to Parliament today to hand deliver his letter, which is now available in full for public viewing.
In addition to Trudeau, the letter is copied to Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada; Yves-François Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Québécois; Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party; and Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada.
As it stands, all the above leaders of the major political parties support maintaining the status-quo on abortion in Canada.