Sadly, the case of pro-lifer  Linda Gibbons, who has spent more time behind bars than Karla Homolka, is typical of how abortion trumps free speech in this country.

Here's just a brief look at the world of free speech for pro-lifers in Canada.

• On Wednesday, another pro-lifer, Mary Wagner of B.C., was released from a Toronto jail after several months. She was not found guilty of any crime. Like Gibbons, she too has been a prisoner of conscience, in and out of jail for no other reason than protesting the killing of unborn babies.

• - In Vancouver, a grandmother is awaiting trial for being inside an abortion bubble zone doing nothing more than protesting the province's abortion gag law, itself an infringement on free speech.  http://busycatholic.blogspot.com/2009/06/grannies-in-handcuffs.html

• In B.C., efforts to find out how many abortions are performed each year in the province have been stifled by provincial legislation, a decision even the province's senior information officer agrees with.  http://busycatholic.blogspot.com/2010/06/turns-out-were-not-entitled-to-know-how.html

• On university and college campuses across the country, pro-lifers have been discriminated against, had their funding arbitrarily removed, and even been charged by their own academic institution.

Free speech hasn't applied to pro-lifers in Canada for a long time.

For more accounts of the abortion/censorship issue in Canada visit http://stopabortioncensorship.wordpress.com.

Paul Schratz