US anti-abortion activist drops case

US anti-abortionist activist Troy Neman will not pursue a legal challenge in the High Court over his revoked visa due to lack of funds

Troy Newman, head of the Kansas-based Operation Rescue

US anti-abortion activist Troy Newman has decided not to go ahead with a High Court challenge. Source: AAP

A controversial US anti-abortion campaigner will not challenge Australia's decision to cancel his visa because it is too expensive.

Troy Newman, the head of anti-abortion organisation Operation Rescue, was due to speak at a national tour during October organised by pro-life group Right to Life Australia.

However, he was denied entry after landing in Melbourne, and then deported, after Immigration Minister Peter Dutton decided to revoke his visa out of concern his speeches could incite community harm.

Right to Life Australia on Friday said it was "inherently unfair", but legal action against the Commonwealth was being dropped.

"Due to the expense involved in continuing to litigate a High Court action, Mr Newman is not pursuing the proceedings issued in the High Court on 1 October, 2015," the group said in a statement.

The group said Mr Newman was being punished for Department of Immigration "incompetence", claiming the department emailed the wrong man with information about Mr Newman's visa status.

As a result, Mr Newman allegedly did not get the news of his visa cancellation before boarding a plane to Australia, the group said.

However, Mr Newman knew his visa was an issue, as he posted a video online of him arguing with airline staff when they told him he couldn't board a plane in the US due to his cancelled visa.

In a previous Facebook post, Mr Newman said the revocation of his visa was "based on a pile of lies, including the idea that I promote violence".

The anti-abortion activist has previously made headlines for questioning why doctors who perform abortions aren't executed, and why men and women who ask for terminations are not charged with murder.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world