Commentary and Opinion By Donna Westfall – January 31, 2024 – Credit to Lifesitenews.com and Reporter Ashley Sadler
How many have heard of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE)? It means you must be aware that you can be arrested for taking part in a peaceful protest at an abortion clinic Here’s a taste of the first part of the act. You can look up the rest under 18 U.S. Code § 248 – Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances.
a)Prohibited Activities.—Whoever—
(1) by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person because that person is or has been, or in order to intimidate such person or any other person or any class of persons from, obtaining or providing reproductive health services;
“Reproductive health services” really means abortion this is what I call it: Pro Death to fetuses or Anti-Life.
When Christians pray in an abortion clinic, that’s a no-no.
When we look at (2) and (3) the Act speaks of 1st Amendment right of religious freedom. Let’s settle on that for a spell.
While the six “criminals” were praying at the abortion clinic outside of Nashville in 2021, this from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “At least 309 incidents have occurred across 43 states and the District of Columbia since May 2020. Incidents include arson, statues beheaded, limbs cut, smashed, and painted, gravestones defaced with swastikas and anti-Catholic language and American flags next to them burned, and other destruction and vandalism. This list shows incidents of vandalism, arson, or other destruction at Catholic sites that have been publicly reported in news media. It excludes incidents where circumstances suggest a motive other than hostility toward the Church.“
I tried doing a search to see if any of those crimes were prosecuted and couldn’t find anything. It doesn’t mean none happened, I just couldn’t find anything.
Once again we have a double standard. The weaponization of Biden’s Department of Justice.
“The pro-life advocates who were convicted Tuesday (January 30th) are Chester Gallagher of Lebanon, Tennessee; Heather Idoni and Calvin Zastrow of Michigan; Coleman Boyd of Bolton, Mississippi, and Dennis Green of Cumberland, Virginia. Paul Vaughn of Centerville, Tennessee, the Christian husband and father of 11 who was arrested at gunpoint at his family home in 2022, was also convicted.”
When you read the following coming out of the grand jury, it sounds like the they could have done damage:
“The convictions come after a federal grand jury in Nashville brought the indictments against the 11 pro-lifers in October 2022, including the six convicted Tuesday, alleging that they “aided and abetted by one another, used force and physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, and interfere with employees of the clinic and a patient who was seeking reproductive health services [abortions]. Concentration camp survivor Eva Edl, then 87, was among those charged, LifeSite reported at the time.”
Reporter Ashley Sadler writes: “Despite the convictions, the rescue in question was markedly peaceful. Participants stood inside the building, sang hymns, and some sat in front of doors to prevent entry and exit.”
“A recording from the planned protest, made public by pro-life organization Live Action, shows pro-lifers standing and sitting inside a hallway of the building, singing hymns, praying, and refusing to leave. Some of the pro-lifers sat in front of doors in a passive effort to prevent employees and patients from proceeding with abortions. On one occasion, the protesters attempted to engage an apparently abortion-seeking woman in conversation about the preciousness of her preborn baby.”
Um, sounds like there’s a bit of a discrepancy doesn’t it? Wonder what the employees of the abortion clinic had to say? Wonder how much longer our nation will be faced with this double standard.
“Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah accused the Biden administration of having a double standard when it comes to the FACE Act, which is ostensibly meant to protect pro-life pregnancy centers AND churches in addition to abortion facilities.
“[T]he Biden administration incarcerates people for praying at abortion clinics while ignoring violent acts at churches and pregnancy centers,”
Republicans concerned about the Biden administration’s focus on pro-life advocates to the apparent exclusion of pro-abortion and anti-Christian activists led the GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives to create a “Weaponization of Government” Select Committee in January 2023 to investigate alleged instances of FBI and other federal intelligence agencies’ meddling in domestic politics, including the use of the FACE Act to arrest pro-lifers like Mark Houck and Vaughn.”
Sorta reminds me of Prop 47. The misnamed Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act that went into effect on November 5, 2014. This Act reduces most drug possession offenses and thefts of property valued under $950.00 from felonies to misdemeanors. Want to know why crime has increased? Blame Prop 47. An initiative to reverse it is going on right now. As soon as I get ahold of a petition I’ll publish it.
In the meantime, is there anything we can do to help the “guilty” before their July 2nd sentencing? Probably letters and phone calls to our representatives. These are the five I’m familiar with:
- 1st district: Doug LaMalfa (R), since 2013
- 2nd district: Jared Huffman (D), since 2013
- 3rd district: Kevin Kiley (R), since 2023
- 4th district: Mike Thompson (D), since 1999
- 5th district: Tom McClintock (R), since 2009
I’m well aware of how rotten Grand Jury’s can be. Let’s recall the Del Norte County Grand Jury w0hen several of us testified back during the Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade/expansion days (around 2009 – 2011) with sewer rates ever increasing, I felt I was treated like a criminal. I thought that the Grand Jury was not interested in the facts, only in whitewashing not investigating much like my fellow City Council members; Kelly Schellong, Charles Slert, Dennis Burns and Kathryn Murray.
One more thing about the abortion clinic in Tennessee. That clinic has since been forced to stop providing abortions to comply with Tennessee’s pro-life legislation after the June 2022 overthrow of Roe v. Wade.
