Pro-Lifers to Appear in Court in Little Rock on February 6, Face Federal Charges in Tennessee

Abortion, , ,
Above: A Little Rock police officer arrests a pro-lifer for trespassing outside Little Rock Family Planning Services on January 15, 2021.

Six pro-lifers are slated to appear in court in Little Rock on February 6 on misdemeanor criminal trespassing at an abortion facility.

Some face federal charges from the Biden Administration’s Justice Department as well.

On January 15, 2021, LRPD arrested a group of pro-life activists for 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 showing LRPD arrested Eva Edl of South Carolina; Chet Gallagher Tennessee; Dennis Green Virginia; Calvin Zastrow of Michigan; Emily Nurnberg of Kansas; and Heather Iddoni of Michigan.

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 trespassing.

Court records show the pro-lifers were convicted in February of 2022. Each was ordered to pay a $350 fine.

However, their attorney appealed the conviction, and the pro-lifers have a February 6, 2023, court date.

In the meantime, five of the defendants also have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Tennessee for allegedly violating the Free Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

The FACE Act is a federal law generally intended to prevent people from obstructing abortion facility entrances.

A federal indictment unsealed on October 5 alleges that Gallagher, Iddoni, Zastrow, Green, and Edl blocked a Tennessee abortion facility entrance in March of 2021.

Iddoni also has been charged with violating the FACE Act in a separate case at an abortion facility in Washington, D.C.

If convicted, they face up to 11 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. The federal case against them is currently set to go to trial January 16, 2024.

It is worth pointing out 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 is no longer open for business. It is unclear at this point what bearing those facts might have on these cases.

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What Parents (Don’t) Want from Disney

LGBT

Disney has had a rough year. First came Turning Red, a film that lost the company $168 million dollars. In March, there was the dustup with Ron DeSantis over Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Then there was Lightyear, a summer box office failure, whose star boldly predicted that parents concerned with the film’s LGBTQ agenda would soon “die off like the dinosaurs.”  With market shares slumping, Disney recently fired CEO Bob Chapek and replaced him with his predecessor, Bob Iger. Writing for WORLD Opinions, Samuel D. James summed it up nicely:   

Whether or not its stock improves, the company has to reckon with the fact that stuffing children’s entertainment with sexual revolution shibboleths is bad for the bottom line. … As the world’s foremost creator of children and family entertainment, Disney’s LGBT signaling feels invasive in a way that typical Hollywood liberalism does not.  

Maybe it’s time for Disney to listen to the words of a particularly wise old baboon. “The past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”

Copyright 2025 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Lawsuit in Connecticut Underscores Why Arkansas Passed Law Protecting Fairness in Women’s Sports

Transgender,

Earlier this month the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that biological males can compete against females in women’s sports in Connecticut.

The ruling came about as the result of a lawsuit brought by four female student athletes against the Connecticut Association of Schools after the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference adopted a policy that lets males who claim to be female compete in girls’ athletics.

Attorneys representing the four female athletes say they may appeal the court’s decision.

Situations like this one are part of the reason Arkansas and other states have enacted legislation protecting fairness in women’s sports.

Act 461 of 2021 by Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R — Smackover) protects fairness in women’s sports at school by preventing male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics.

Over the past few years we have seen biological males dominate women’s athletics in some parts of the country.

For example, in 2019 Rachel McKinnon — a biological male who claims to be female — won the female Cycling World Championship.

More recently, biologically male athlete Lia Thomas shattered women’s swimming records and was even nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year.

Letting males compete in girls’ sports reverses 50 years of advancements for women and effectively erases girls’ athletics.

It hampers girls’ abilities to compete for athletic scholarships, and it hurts their professional opportunities as adults.

It isn’t just unfair. In some sports, it can even be dangerous.

Arkansas’ Act 461 is a good law that protects women and upholds fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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