Pro-Lifers to Stand Trial Today for Alleged Trespassing at Little Rock Abortion Facility in 2021

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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 set to stand trial today in Little Rock on charges of misdemeanor trespassing at an abortion facility in 2021.

Eva Edl of South Carolina; Chet Gallagher Tennessee; Dennis Green of Virginia; Calvin Zastrow of Michigan; Emily Nurnberg of Kansas; and Heather Iddoni of Michigan face misdemeanor criminal trespassing charges for allegedly blocking the entrance to Little Rock Family Planning Services — a surgical abortion facility in Little Rock — on January 15, 2021.

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 they are scheduled to appear in court today.

In a separate case, 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 in October of last year 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 federal case at an abortion facility in Washington, D.C.

If convicted in federal court, 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 next year.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has reversed Roe v. Wade, abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother, and Little Rock Family Planning Services is shut down.

It is unclear at this point what bearing those facts might have on these cases.

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Bill Would Weaken Arkansas’ Pro-Life Laws

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A bill filed last week would weaken Arkansas’ good, pro-life laws.

Thanks to legislation passed in 2019 and 2021, Arkansas law generally prohibits abortion except to save the life of the mother.

H.B. 1301 by Rep. Nicole Clowney (D – Fayetteville) adds exceptions allowing abortion in cases of “fetal abnormality incompatible with life.”

The bill does not define what is or is not a “fetal abnormality.” It is not clear how a federal judge might interpret this language.

Unborn children should not be aborted simply because a doctor thinks they may be at risk for a fetal abnormality.

Family Council strongly opposes this bill — and any other bill that would weaken our state’s pro-life laws.

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Measure Permitting Pro-Life “Baby Boxes” Passes Arkansas House Without Opposition

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On Tuesday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed passed H.B. 1098 without any opposition.

H.B. 1098 expands Arkansas’ Safe Haven law that lets women anonymously surrender a newborn.

The Safe Haven Act lets a woman surrender her newborn baby to law enforcement, medical personnel, and first responders.

The law gives women with unplanned pregnancies an option besides abortion, and it protects newborns from being abandoned.

Similar laws are on the books in all 50 states.

Act 185 of 2019 by Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R – Rogers) and Rep. Rebecca Petty (R – Rogers) improved Arkansas’ Safe Haven law by letting fire stations install Safe Haven Boxes — sometimes called ‘baby boxes’ — where women can anonymously place their newborn. Placing a baby inside the box triggers a silent alarm notifying first responders about the child.

Since then, multiple babies in Arkansas have been saved by these baby boxes.

H.B. 1098 by Rep. Julie Mayberry (R – Hensley) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) makes it possible for volunteer fire departments to install baby boxes at their stations, provided that the department maintains and monitors the baby box in accordance with state law, and first responders are able to reach the baby in less than four minutes.

The bill now goes to the Arkansas Senate for a vote.

You can see how your representative voted here.

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