p/c LSN. The above is an arrest of Fr. Fidelis, myself and Will Goodman in New Jersey with Red Rose Rescue in July 2019.
In the 1980s, the great heroes of the pro-life movement were those associated with “Operation Rescue” and other pro-lifers who locked themselves peacefully to abortion centers. They were often beat up by police until they released themselves from a PVC pipe connecting themselves to others with a seat-belt release found only in that PVC pipe. Though rattled, they usually only had to do a short time in jail for this.
However, Bill Clinton passed the FACE laws which made it not a misdemeanor but a felony to block entrance to an abortion center. This greatly put the breaks on “Operation Rescue” since this would be an immediate five years in prison. Years later, “Red Rose Rescue” found a way around this: “Rescuers” would now peacefully remain in the waiting room of an abortion center, handing out roses and begging women to let their babies live. Red Rose Rescue decided not to block entrances. This way, we get a misdemeanor at our arrest, not a felony (according to the FACE laws of Bill Clinton.) That is why I have only done time in jail for hours at a time for arrests like you see at the featured image at the top.
CatholicVote.org recently pointed out a fascinating loophole to the FACE laws that punish those who would block entrance to a center. CatholicVote reads:
While “usually used to punish pro-life sit-ins,” the Act “applies equally to any church invasions, interference with services, blocking doors or parking lots, and vandalism, and it allows private lawsuits not only by the pastor but also by parishioners affected,” Matt Bowman, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, told CatholicVote. “The same is true for pro-life pregnancy centers.”
This means that FACE laws not only hurt pro-lifers, but in this current year of great pro-abortion aggression against both Catholic Churches and Crisis Pregnancy Centers, the FACE laws ironically help pro-lifers. It’s important for Catholics, non-Catholic Christians and all pro-lifers to be aware of these laws that make it a serious crime to interfere with any religious services or even crisis pregnancy centers. While I am always telling people we need to accept martyrdom willingly (and I stand by that assertion) we should also prosecute as felons any pro-abort who would dare interfere with Holy Mass or the important work of pro-life counseling up to that point.