Father Anthony Van Hee, 84, has stood up for free speech and protested abortion for 30 years on Parliament Hill. Now, he will be recognized for it with an award from the Catholic Civil Rights League on Nov. 25.
Father Van Hee made headlines when he was arrested Oct. 24, 2018, for wearing a sandwich board with the statements: “The Primacy of Free Speech Cornerstone of Western Civilization” and “Without Free Speech the State is a Corpse.”
His protest that day had been within 50 metres of an abortion clinic in Ottawa, and he was charged for violating the “Safe Access to Abortion Services Act,” despite not speaking to anyone or handing out any anti-abortion pamphlets.
The Catholic Civil Rights League is involved in a constitutional challenge to that law. It will present Father Van Hee with the Archbishop Exner Award in November. That award was created in 2004 upon the retirement of Archbishop Adam Exner, OMI, of Vancouver and to recognize advocacy, education, media, and philanthropy, especially on life issues.
In recent years the CCRL has given the award to Dr. Catherine Ferrier with the Physicians' Alliance against Euthanasia (2018), Dr. Robert Walley founder of MaterCare International (2017), and Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (2016).
