"I can't even mail a letter!" - Abortion clinic "buffer zone" arrest

http://forerunner.com/ccbc/X0019_Three_abortion_docto.html

Before the abortion clinic closed for good in 2000, there was much protest activity on the public property around the Aware Woman Center for Choice in Melbourne, Florida.

In 1993, Judge McGregor issued an injunction against three organizations and six individuals and all persons "acting in concert" with them. This injunction requires these respondents to stay outside of a 36 foot buffer zone created on public property.

* In 1993, 104 people, none of them named on the injunction, were convicted of violating this injunction. These trials were before a judge who was brought out of retirement from north Florida just for these trials. He was not accountable to the citizens of Brevard county. Also, no jury trial was allowed. All 104 defendants believe that they were unjustly convicted. They were on public property where they had every right to be as members of the public. No judge had ever told them to stay out of the buffer zone.

* In the Madsen case in June of 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 36-foot buffer zone part of the injunction as it applies to named parties. Since no non-parties were plaintiffs in the case, no ruling was made about the "in concert" clause.

* In the Alf case in the fall of 1995, the U.S. Supreme court refused to hear the case of the 104 non-parties even though it had basically invited this case in the opinion written in the Madsen case. The Supreme Court has refused to give a clear, definitive ruling on the "in concert" part of this injunction.

* After June 1994, there were over 20 injunction violation charges made by the Melbourne Police Department. Not one of these cases was brought to trial. They were all dismissed.

At some point, arrest with the knowledge that there will be no prosecution becomes harassment. Being dragged off to jail, having to post bond, and then having to show up for as many as nine court dates over a period of nine months, as in one defendant's case, just to see the charges dropped is harassment. This is unconstitutional. The sixth amendment to our Constitution guarantees that the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy trial and to be confronted with the witnesses against him.

After two years of court battles and over 20 individual arrests, pro-lifers were able to take back the buffer zone. Graham Dugas, who lives across the street from the Aware Woman Abortuary and its infamous 36-foot buffer zone, took the buffer zone back on Saturday, May 11, 1996. On the previous Thursday, Dugas had successfully defended himself in Court on a buffer zone violation charge. On May 11, he went back into the zone using the same props with the court evidence tags still attached. He was carrying a pro-life sign and the transmitting half of a baby monitor being used as a disposable remote microphone to pick up audio for the video camera when he was previously arrested. He was immediately warned again at which time he left the buffer zone and asked to speak to a supervisor. A lieutenant came out and after some discussion, withdrew the warning. Dugas then went back into the buffer zone and waved everyone over.

About 30 people walked, prayed and picketed in the buffer zone freely for the first time in three years.

Sidewalk counseling took place on the sidewalk again for the first time in almost two years. When Christians pray and counsel women from sidewalks in front of abortion clinics more women are dissuaded from having their babies aborted than when people are not allowed to come within these unconstitutional "buffer zones."

- Meredith Raney

Category:

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Tags:

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• Dugas
• arrest
• 911
• emergency
• buffer
• zone
• abortion
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• pro-life
• free
• speech

[jacobatf79]

Yeah, cause no organized religion has ever slaughtered innocents.

[jcr4runner]

It was actually HIS mailbox -- it's in the "buffer zone" and we would be arrested if we lingered there. I am the owner of the house.

BTW: Graham won his case, he sued the city for false arrest and they settled, and then the buffer zone injunction was eventually ignored by the police.

[destine4hope]

Who knew that standing up for what is right was "wrong".

Ridiculous.

[lamarjr56]

pirbird14, could you have been looking the wrong way? These human embryos have been called "snowflake babies" since pro-life people have been seeking to find parents to adopt them. The first one adopted was born way back in the last millenium. Look it up.

[lamarjr56]

@pirbird14

They have been called "snowflake babies." The first of these children to be adopted was born in 1998. Thanks for bringing attention to these precious little ones who obviously need protection and nurturing as well. Thank you for the opportunity to inform the uninformed.

[lamarjr56]

pirbird14, By the way, the first child adopted as an embryo was born in 1998. She is a girl, with a name and a family. What do you know? She was human all along. She even got her picture taken with President George W. Bush. Thank you for the opportunity to inform the uninformed. I am your fellow product of conception.

[CarolMariePL]

@tripillthreat She realized that it had been a lie that this was simply "products of conception" She saw the child being killed, and she realized she could no longer lie to women that it was nothing. She left her job with no idea what she would do next to help pay the family bills. She had been slated to run the new Super Clinic that PP is building in Texas, and was making a nice salary, all of which she left behind when she saw first hand the truth of the suffering that abortion causes.

[CarolMariePL]

@tripillthreat She, for the first time, assisted a doctor as he did an ultrasound guided abortion and as she watched the fetus respond to the abortion she dropped the probe mid-procedure at the horrible realization of what she was seeing. The child was at first asleep, but then when the canula touch her, she struggled to get away. Then, the suction was turned on and she saw the limbs ripped from the body. I believe this was a 12 week fetus. Abby realized right then that what she was wrong.

[CarolMariePL]

@tripillthreat - did you know that when the majority of abortions occur the baby does in fact feel the pain and recoils against the canula the has entered the womb to tear the developing fetus limb from limb? Goggle Abby Johnson and listen to her testimony. Last year she was Employee of the Year for Texas Planned Parenthood, where she was the Director of the Clinic in Bryan Texas.

[pirbird14]

As of May, 2003, there were 400,000 frozen embryos stored in fertility clinics in America. Most are the property of the couples who placed them there. I don't see any of these fetus fetishists trying to emancipate these frozen "human beings" from their status as chattel property - slaves.

[pirbird14]

Webster's 11th edition online defines "human being" as "human(n)", and then defines "human(n)" as "a bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens) : man; broadly : hominid". It then defines "man" as : a "bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens) that is anatomically related to the great apes but distinguished especially by notable development of the brain with a resultant capacity for articulate speech and abstract reasoning" or "person".

In what way does the fetus display personhood or abstract reason?