Reverse SLAPP!

While Canadian fetus fetishists are desperately trying to replicate the admitted successes of their USian co-religionists, the truth is they're losing.

And the most recent loss is significant.

A couple of BC fake clinics Crisis Pregnancy Centres took Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada Executive Director, Joyce Arthur, to court alleging defamation in a 2009 report she wrote for the Pro-Choice Action Network.

Titled 'Exposing Crisis Pregnancy Centres in British Columbia', the report documents the deceptions and manipulations regularly practiced by these outfits.

To make a long story short, the fake clinics were butthurt* and wanted a public forum to whine in. And maybe make a little cash.

The judge was having none of it and tossed the suit. (Read Joyce's account for details and links.)

(Delish sidelight: losing side must pay costs. We're hoping for a maybe-think-twice-next-time sort of amount.)

When the suit was brought, many observers thought it smelled suspiciously SLAPPy. A SLAPP case, or strategic lawsuit against public participation, is 'intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.'

That kinda backfired, didn't it?

Here's Joyce on why they failed.

The defamation lawsuit backfired on the Christian Advocacy Society because, in my view, the anti-choice movement doesn't always have a firm grasp on reality. They tend to be quite insular, and so become convinced their position is far more reasonable and defensible than it actually is.

(That's Joyce being polite. Not to put too fine a point on it, fetus fetishists are delusional.)

Of course, the fake clinics spun it as a partial victory, claiming that while they didn't get to sue, the court ruled that Joyce didn't actually say anything bad about them specifically.

They have until September 25 to file an appeal. Ya think?

Two main takeaways.

One, this is just the latest in a string of defeats for the forced pregnancy mob in Canada. They've been losing legislatively at every turn, as Joyce lists in her article and as regular DJ! readers know and revel in. They're losing the public opinion war, most recently with the Fetal Gore Pron Gang's failed summer offensive -- and we mean OFFENSIVE -- postcard campaign targetting insufficiently 'pro-life' MPs.

Most importantly, while they occasionally grab the media spotlight in creepy and off-putting ways, as when Dr Morgentaler died a few months ago, polls consistently show that a majority of Canadians want everyone to shut the fuck up about abortion.

Second takeaway: The public spanking and (we hope) MASSIVE kick in the pocketbook for costs may deter other members of the Butthurt Band.

Such as Alyssa Golob, whose knickers got twisted when yelled at by an exasperated pub owner.

Third takeaway (OK, I lied): Isn't it grand to live in Canada?

Congrats, Joyce. And thanks. You've done a service for all of us mouthy sane people who call these lying liars out for fun and profit.


*LATER: I've been informed that 'butthurt' is a homophobic slur used by gamers when they have 'raped' an opponent. Well, I couldn't find documentation on that. Which is good, because it's a great phrase for exactly what it sounds like.