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TORONTO, November 3, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — An Ontario judge’s ban on publishing the name of an abortion “doctor” who testified at the trial of pro-life activist Mary Wagner is a “serious violation of press freedom,” says LifeSiteNews.
Superior Court Justice Julie Thorburn released a decision Thursday after hearing the Crown’s application on a publication ban September 18, in which LifeSiteNews intervened on Wagner’s behalf.
Wagner was arrested December 12 at the Bloor West Village Women’s Clinic while attempting to persuade the mothers to choose life for their unborn children. She was charged with breach of probation and mischief.
But the judge ruled it was in the interests of justice to ban publication of the name of the abortion “doctor.”
“All references to the doctor shall refer only to ‘the doctor’ without any further identification,” Thorburn said.
There is “a real and substantial risk of harm to the witness and a need to protect doctors who perform these legally protected services from that risk,” Thorburn said.
“Abortion is a controversial issue about which people have strongly held views.”
Thorburn described LifeSiteNews in her ruling as “a website that covers pro-life/anti-choice issues.” “anti-choice” is an abortion movement
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