Planned Parenthood, Allies Escalate War on Pro-Lifers
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Promoting the Culture of Life and Fighting the Culture of Death since 1987 CATHOLIC • PRO-LIFE • PRO-FAMILY Jan. – Feb. 2020, Vol. 31 No. 1 Circ. 4329 www.DefendLife.org • [email protected] Voice Mail: (410) 296-LIVE • Pro-Life Action News: (410) 296-BORN Planned Parenthood, allies escalate war on pro-lifers The leather-jacketed “pro- choice escort” in front of Balti- more’s Planned Parenthood abor- tion facility on January 16 ripped off his orange escort vest and, swaying from side to side, walked slowly to- ward John Neale until his face was inches from the pro-lifer’s. He shoved his chest against Neale’s, pushing him in an attempt to force him backward. “I’m off the clock now, bitch,” he said in measured tones. “None of your s—t. I don’t care if I ever A screen shot from a video by pro-lifer John Neale (left) captures the come back to volunteer. I’ll ruin “in-your-face” assault on him by a “pro-choice escort” in front of you today.” Planned Parenthood in Baltimore. “You’ll probably be ruining yourself!” Neale retorted. in menacing silence, or broke the tack me and others on numerous oc- “I’m perfectly good,” the escort silence with further threats and ob- casions.” snapped. “You’re not the first one scenities. The next day, January 17, it was I’ve f-----g taken down a notch. It The confrontation (which ended Roswell’s turn to be attacked. won’t be the f-----g last.” with the arrival of a police offi- A plumber, coming to do work Neale chuckled in derision. cer) had begun when Neale gave a at Planned Parenthood, saw three “John, back off from him!” woman on her way into the abortion new signs that Roswell had just set cried a woman pro-lifer. clinic a “Blessing Bag” containing up, showing healthy 6- and 9-week- “I need to back off? I think a pro-life brochure, and the escort old unborn babies. he needs to back off!” Neale ex- tried to grab it from her. “Are these signs legal?” the claimed. “I have every right to be “Don’t let him take that from plumber yelled angrily. where I’m standing—this gentle- you!” Neale had yelled. He started violently kicking one man is encroaching on me.” “This jerk is the foulest- of the signs. Then he turned his attention mouthed person down there,” said Roswell rushed over, shouting, back to the escort. “So what are John Roswell, leader of Sidewalk “You can’t do that!” you trying to do, trying to push me Advocates for Life, whose mem- The plumber turned and shoved some more, so I have to push back? bers regularly volunteer at the abor- the pro-lifer with both hands, push- I know your game!” tion clinic. ing him back a couple of feet. Minutes passed as the escort “He has physically attacked a “You just assaulted me!” cried continued his “in-your-face” assault priest there, and threatened to at- Roswell. 2 DEFEND LIFE • January – February 2020 His attacker raised a pipe as he began setting up his pro-life wrench he was holding as if to use signs, he was accosted by two men it as a weapon. Roswell pulled out who had apparently been waiting a can of mace from his pocket that for his arrival. he carries routinely for protection at They were in plain clothes, but the abortion facility. wore badges identifying them as Roswell called the police and working for the Baltimore City De- reported the assault. Three police partment of Housing and Commu- officers arrived about an hour later, nity Development. after the plumber had done his work One of them told Roswell that and left. any sign touching city property, The three escorts and a mainte- even just setting on the ground, nance man all insisted to the police must have a permit. He warned that Roswell had started the inci- the pro-lifer that he would be fined dent by pushing the plumber first. $500 per day if he set up his signs. An abortion “escort” flaunts a As the officer in charge was “And we can confiscate them,” pro-life flyer that she took from a leaving, he quietly told Roswell, the other official added. woman and ripped up. “Keep up the good work!” A business card one of the men Just five days later, the pro-lif- gave Roswell identified him as an send him a copy. ers received a non-physical assault investigator with the Baltimore City As the pro-lifer began taking his on their First Amendment rights to Housing Department. signs back to his truck, he saw the freedom of speech. When Roswell asked to see two men go into the Planned Par- When Roswell arrived at the a copy of the law, they said they enthood building. abortion facility on January 22, didn’t have it with them, but would Roswell believes that the or- dinances (which one of the inves- tigators eventually sent him) are designed to deal with commercial signs and not with signs temporar- ily used in the expression of free speech. He has consulted with an attor- ney with the Thomas More Society, who has promised to help him. When pro-lifers are able to give a brochure or flyer to a woman, an escort often grabs it from her and tears it up. On January 31 a Defend Life reporter tried to take photos of the escorts blocking the pro-lifers’ at- tempts to hand out brochures to women. A security guard standing at the entrance of Planned Parent- Another ambulance called to Planned Parenthood hood shouted to the reporter, “What Shortly before police arrived on January 31, the abortion facility had you’re doing is illegal! The police to call for an ambulance to aid a woman scheduled for an abortion who reportedly was suffering from a panic attack See WAR, page 15 DEFEND LIFE IS PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY DEFEND LIFE, INC., 136 STEVENSON LANE, BALTIMORE, MD 21212 DEFEND LIFE • January – February 2020 3 Ambo transports woman from Planned Parenthood—again The shrill wail of an ambulance siren coming down Mulberry Street grabbed the attention of pro-lifers in front of Planned Parenthood on How- ard Street in Baltimore at 11:30 on the morning of December 18. Lights flashing, the ambulance Baltimore pulled up at the corner of Mulberry City Fire and Howard streets. Two paramedics hopped out and wheeled a gurney in Department the front door of the abortion facility. paramedics Shortly afterwards, a fire truck wheel a pulled in front of the building and three men—one carrying a stack of gurney into boxes—exited the truck and also en- Planned tered the clinic. Minutes later, medics emerged, Parenthood bearing a sheet-covered patient on to transport the gurney, loaded her into the ambu- lance and drove off. a woman The pro-lifers were alarmed but suffering a not surprised: just two months ear- hemorrhage lier, on October 2, they had witnessed an ambulance call for another client after an at the same location. abortion. A day after the December 18 event, Defend Life emailed a request code that informs responders of the er noteworthy incidents in December. for copies of all 911 emergency com- nature and severity of the medical On December 13, said Roswell, munications from the Howard Street emergency,” Sullenger explained in a woman had to be helped across the facility on that date. her January 28 story on Operation- street because she could hardly walk The BCFD emailed audio and Rescue.com. after her surgical abortion. printed files of the event, but so heav- “The number 21 represents the And on December 19, another ily redacted that there was no infor- general reason for the emergency, woman left, grimacing in pain, grasp- mation on what had caused the ambu- which was a hemorrhage. The ‘Bra- ing her abdomen and having so much lance to be called. vo’ code indicates a Basic Life Sup- difficulty in walking that a man al- Defend Life forwarded the files port ambulance was needed to run most twice her size was having a hard and videos of the incident to Opera- ‘hot,’ using lights and sirens. time getting her down the sidewalk to tion Rescue. “The final number gave more his car. The pro-life investigative orga- specific information about the hem- “There must be a real butcher nization was able to obtain an audio orrhage. In this case, it represented working in that place,” observed copy of the dispatch. ‘possibly dangerous hemorrhage.’ Roswell. “I adjusted the tempo and volume “Hemorrhaging is a life-threaten- on the recording and heard very clear- ing condition that is the most common Our Hearts are Restless ly, ‘Hemorrhage, 21 Bravo 1,’” OR’s abortion complication for which am- O Lord, Until They Cheryl Sullenger told Defend Life. bulances are called,” she concluded. Rest in Thee. “That alpha-numeric code [21- Sidewalk Advocate for Life lead- ST. AUGUSTINE B-1] is a standard EMS determinate er John Roswell reported several oth- 4 DEFEND LIFE • January – February 2020 Planned Parenthood ejects distraught mother from premises Planned Parenthood employees ordered a very distraught mother to leave the abortion facility on How- ard Street in Baltimore, refusing to let her talk to her daughter who, the mother believed, was being forced to have an abortion by her gun-car- rying boyfriend. Once out on the sidewalk, the mother yelled angrily at the security guard and maintenance man who had ordered her to leave and were standing just inside the facility’s glass front door.