As president and CEO of the nation’s largest sidewalk outreach organization serving outside of abortion facilities, I’m deeply concerned when I hear of someone being arrested for their presence at a facility. Recently, six pro-life activists in Tennessee were convicted for supposedly singing hymns outside an abortion facility. After throwing on my attorney hat and digging into the case, it became clear there was more to the story than many are letting on. I hope to shine a light on the difference between what I see as risky bravado and strategic, life-saving outreach.
The facts of the case note that pro-life demonstrators in Tennessee were convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act — or, more definitively, for blocking the door of an abortion facility by sitting in front of it. Just last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) convicted another group of individuals for violating the FACE Act after they blocked access to a Washington, D.C., abortion facility using their bodies, tying themselves to furniture with chains and ropes. One woman testified that the activists “grabbed at her, told her she was going to hell and followed her all the way into the clinic — where they barred her from entering,” WUSA9 reported. I was shocked to read about these modern-day “rescues,” as some are calling it, knowing how delicate it can be to win a life-saving conversation with a mother considering abortion.
The goal of Sidewalk Advocates for Life’s interaction with an abortion-minded mother is to soften her crisis
