Pro-Life Activists to Stand Trial for Trespassing at Arkansas Abortion Facility

Abortion, , ,

Last week The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported six pro-life activists will stand trial on November 2 for trespassing at Little Rock Family Planning Services.

According to police reports, the trespassing occurred on January 15, 2021.

Little Rock police arrested a group of pro-life activists blocking the entrance at Little Rock Family Planning Services — Arkansas’ only surgical abortion facility.

At least six police cruisers and numerous officers responded to the situation and arrested the pro-lifers while an estimated 30 pro-life advocates prayed and protested from the public sidewalks outside the facility.

Family Council obtained redacted police reports and audio recordings following the incident.

Incident reports from January of 2021 show LRPD arrested Eva Ech, 85, of South Carolina; Chet Gallagher, 74, of Tennessee; Dennis Green, 54, of Virginia; Calvin Zastrow, 60, of Michigan; Emily Nurnberg, 46, of Kansas; Heather Iddoni, 56, of Michigan; and a 14 year old minor. Police reports indicate that the pro-lifers were blocking the front entrance to the abortion facility and did not leave the area when told to do so by law enforcement. As a result, all seven were arrested and charged with criminal trespass.

Below is video of some of the arrests along with audio recordings from dispatch and police.

Police have been called to Little Rock Family Planning many times over the years — typically due to pro-lifers encountering close calls with vehicles outside the facility.

One of the facility’s owners, Natalie Tvedten, was charged with First Degree Assault for allegedly trying to strike pro-lifers with her vehicle while they prayed on the public easement outside Little Rock Family Planning Services on July 13, 2021.

Tvedten was found not guilty last month.

Although it isn’t very common, this is not the first time that pro-lifers have been arrested for blocking an abortion facility entrance in Little Rock.

On July 8, 1994, Little Rock police arrested 29 people from Operation Rescue. The individuals had traveled to Little Rock, where they blocked the entrance to an abortion facility that Dr. Mose Smith operated down the street from War Memorial Stadium; that facility has long since shut down.

As we said in July of 1994, Family Council agrees with stopping abortion through any legal means. We’ve never utilized the more aggressive tactics that some groups use. The folks from out of state who came to Little Rock last year and Family Council both have a mutual goal of ending abortion. That’s what matters to us.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has reversed Roe v. Wade and abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother, Little Rock Family Planning Services has stopped performing abortions. The facility reports on its website that it will close effective September 1 of this year.

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Family Council Joins Letter Opposing “Respect for Marriage Act”

Marriage,

On Tuesday Family Council joined 82 other conservative, grassroots organizations from across the country in urging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel (R — Ky.) to reject the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act,” H.R. 8404.

Among other things, H.R. 8404 fully repeals the Defense of Marriage Act and forces states to honor any definition of marriage that is recognized in another state. That raises serious questions about what happens to marriage laws in states like Arkansas if other states change their laws regarding polygamy or child marriages.

The measure also carries serious implications for Americans who still believe marriage is supposed to be the union of one man and one woman.

The letter to Sen. McConnel says,

The [Respect for Marriage] Act, which was suddenly rushed through the House without any public hearings or input, is an attack on millions of Americans, particularly people of faith, who believe marriage is between one man and one woman and that legitimate distinctions exist between men and women concerning family formation that should be recognized in the law. . . .

H.R. 8404 effectively deputizes activist groups to sue religious individuals, organizations, and businesses that operate according to their sincerely held religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman and also act “under color of state law.” The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized this as a term that might apply where a private organization participates in a joint activity with a state, is performing a function traditionally performed by the government, or even when its operations are entwined with government policies. Activists will argue this includes (1) faith-based foster care providers who are alleged to be performing a state function through child placement services; (2) religious social service organizations that are heavily funded by and work jointly with the government to serve their communities; and (3) religious organizations and businesses that provide services under contract with the government. Although the issues to be litigated would be many, there is no question the proposed Act subjects religious people, businesses, and organizations to countless new lawsuits merely for practicing their faith.

The letter also notes that if passed, the IRS could use the “Respect for Marriage Act” to target churches and charities that believe in a biblical definition of marriage.

The House of Representatives hastily passed H.R. 8404 last week, one day after it was introduced. The proposal received 47 Republican votes. Most of the Republicans in the Senate have yet to take a position on the measure.

We’ve heard time and again about Christian photographers, bakers, florists, and wedding chapel owners being investigated and dragged into court because they declined to take part in a same-sex wedding or ceremony. Sometimes the Christian business owners win their cases. Other times they lose.

Passing the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act” could simply make situations like these worse.

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