Australia to Deport American Anti-Abortion Activist, "We don't welcome extremists into our country"

[lynn82md.livejournal.com]

An American anti-abortion activist is expected to be deported from Australia, after the nation’s highest court ruled Friday that he posed a threat to public order amid concerns he could incite violence against women.

Troy Newman, president of the Kansas-based anti-abortion group Operation Rescue, was detained at Melbourne Airport on Thursday after trying to enter Australia even though officials had already canceled his visa.

The battle to prevent Newman from coming to Australia for a speaking tour began earlier this week, after a lawmaker sent a letter to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton saying Newman could pose a threat to community safety.

“I am most concerned that Mr. Newman’s call for abortionists to be executed could lead to threats or the commission of acts of violence against women and medical professionals,” wrote Terri Butler, a member of the opposition Labor Party.

Immigration officials then revoked Newman’s visa.

“Here in Australia, we are a very open democracy,” Terri Butler, a Labor member of the Australian Parliament, told the New York Times. “We have a lot of discussion, frank discussion, vehement discussion, about issues on which we disagree. And abortion is one of those things. But we don’t welcome extremists into our country.”