A Canadian abortion activist accused of trying to sabotage and harass 40 Days for Life and its leaders has been ordered to stop by a judge.
The interim injunction against abortion activist Brooke Dietrich and other unnamed abortion activists came from the Ontario Superior Court in Canada on March 1.
Leaders with 40 Days for Life took legal action against Dietrich after they said she and other abortion activists signed up for prayer vigils with no intent to participate and published personal information about pro-life leaders online to encourage “malicious” phone calls and text messages.
Abortion activists also attempted to sabotage the 40 Days for Life website by filling online shopping carts full of items from its online store with no intent to buy anything, according to the pro-life organization.
Shawn Carney, president and co-founder of 40 Days for Life, said Dietrich launched the “malicious” campaign against them last fall, and used the social media site TikTok to urge people to join her.
“Sabotage, identity theft, and other unlawful attacks against peaceful, law-abiding 40 Days for Life campaigns cannot be and were not tolerated,” Carney said. “This [month], a court agreed, issuing an injunction against Dietrich and her followers and in favor of 40 Days for Life.”
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When abortion activists fraudulently signed up to participate in prayer vigils online, they created a situation where “numerous local vigil calendars in multiple countries [were] effectively useless for parts of the fall campaign,” he explained.
Lawyer Phil Horgan, who represents 40 Days for Life in the case, told Campaign Life Coalition that he was pleased by the judge’s decision.
“It should be noted that 40 Days supports free speech on a matter of public interest, but we presented cases where interference, including online harassment, that exceeded speech could be the subject of injunctive relief. The judge was satisfied to issue our proposed order,” Horgan said.
Carney said the abortion activists’ actions demonstrate just how powerful and effective 40 Days for Life has been in saving babies’ lives.
“Abortion advocates only sabotage the vigils because they lawfully save lives from abortion,” he said. “We will continue to use peaceful, non-violent efforts to win hearts, minds, and souls and will defend those rights in court when necessary.”
The 40 Days for Life campaign encourages pro-lifers to hold a constant vigil outside their local abortion facility to pray and offer help to mothers, fathers and babies as well as abortion workers who want to quit.
The current campaign runs March 2 to April 10, with hundreds of vigils taking place each week across the world. Find a 40 Days for Life vigil here.
