January 29, 2012

Randy’s Back!

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion, Abortion Doctor Murder, Abortion Escorts, Abortion Information, Abortion Law, Abortion lies, Abortion Pill, Abortion Terrorism, Abortion Violence, Randall Terry | Tags: , , , |
[57] Comments 
Randall Terry Abortion

Randall Terry Abortion

Ole Randall Terry just can’t avoid the spotlight.

As many of you know, Terry was the founder and leader of Operation Rescue which for years literally struck terror in the hearts of abortion providers everywhere.  He first attracted national attention in 1991 when he organized the “Summer of Mercy,” which brought thousands of anti-abortion advocates to Wichita, Kansas where they set up camp right in front of the late Doctor George Tiller’s clinic.  Tiller and his staff courageously endured the onslaught but Terry got his headlines and raised a significant amount of money.

Abortion

Abortion

Then, in the years that followed, it seemed that several times each year his troops would descend on another abortion provider, blocking access to clinics, terrorizing staff and patients and garnering even more headlines.  But I have to give him credit.  As a staff person at the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, the minute we heard him announce that he was targeting yet another abortion clinic, we went into high alert.  Led by staff from the Fund for a Feminist Majority, help was sent to the clinic to prepare staff for the mayhem that was on its way.

Abortion Access

Abortion Access

The irony is that Terry and his crew got so out of hand that the Congress ultimately passed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which practically shut down Terry’s operations.  Also, to make matters worse, Terry started veering off message a little, targeting homosexuals and Muslims.  Then, a series of personal indignities surfaced.  We learned that his son was gay, his daughter had sex outside of marriage and became pregnant.  She had a miscarriage and is reportedly no longer welcome in his home.  Then his other daughter had two children outside of wedlock and became a Muslim.  Finally, Terry himself was ultimately censured by his church after admitting that he had committed adultery.

Abortion

Abortion

Okay, now pick yourself up off the floor and stop laughing.

And now, guess what, Terry is back in the news!   Yup – he is running for President of the United States.  If you can believe it, he is actually “challenging” the most “pro-abortion President in U.S. history”, Barack Obama, in the Democratic primaries.  Yeah, I can’t figure that one out either.  Indeed, a few weeks ago I was channel surfing and happened upon a “debate” featuring the “lesser known Democratic candidates” for president.  Very kooky stuff.  And Terry was actually the most articulate of the group but the problem was that I couldn’t take my eyes off the candidate sitting next to him because he was wearing a big boot on his head and practically spoke in tongues.  At the end of the debate, the boot head sprinkled “fairy dust” all over Terry.

Keep your own house in order

Keep your own house in order

But Terry is looking to make more news.  He is currently trying to raise money to show a graphic anti-abortion ad to be played during the Super Bowl.  He is exploiting an FCC rules that prohibits censorship of “political” ads within 45 days of a primary. The ad will feature the usual dubious photos of alleged aborted fetuses.  And, as Terry well knows himself, the ads will have no impact and, in fact, will cause more people to turn against him and his cause.  But that’s okay because this is not about the cause, it’s all about Randall Terry.

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September 5, 2011

Using “FACE” Again

Posted by Pat Richards under Abortion Information, FACE Act, FACE law, Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act | Tags: , , , , , , , |
[129] Comments 
Abortion.com Law access to Abortion Clinics

Stop Anti Abortion Terrorism

I looked President Clinton directly in the eye and, shaking his hand, said “Thank you Mr. President for helping to protect our clinics.”

In the last week, I’ve been reading with great interest how President Obama’s Department of Justice has been aggressively using the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (“FACE”), a law passed in 1994 designed to protect abortion clinics, abortion patients and the clinic staff from certain anti-abortion activity.

As a staff person for the National Coalition of Abortion Providers , in the early 1990’s I attended a number of meetings with the Clinton Administration’s staff about the need for federal protection from anti-abortion zealots.  At that point, any prosecution of such activity was carried out generally by the state and, well, there were a number of states that did not give a crap about protecting abortion clinics.  But the Clinton folks were in a quandary because, as they told us, they had no jurisdiction in these cases because there was no federal law protecting clinics.  So, they urged us to try to pass the “FACE” Act, which had been introduced a while ago but was languishing in the Congress.  Our meetings were very frustrating because we knew – we just knew – that one day the violence would escalate.  And on March 10, 1994, it did go to a new level when Doctor David Gunn was murdered as he entered his clinic.

Abortion Clinic

Abortion Clinic

Doctor Gunn’s death and the incredible amount of publicity it generated gave pro-choicer groups more ammunition to pass the FACE Act and to give the Department of Justice jurisdiction over these crimes.  Congressional hearings were held, the pro-choice lobbyists worked hard to get support for the bill and ultimately the bill passed both houses of Congress.

By this time, I had become good friends with David Gunn, Jr. and his sister, Wendy.  In fact, after a while David basically became the national spokesman for NCAP, going so far as to pose for a picture that was used in a full page New York Times ad to help us raise money.  We were both on “The Donahue Show” together and on various other shows as well.

Abortion

Abortion

After the Congress passed the FACE Act, I got a call a call from one of Clinton’s staff people inviting me to attend the signing of the bill in the White House.  Needless to say, I was totally thrilled, having never been to the White House except for that crappy little public tour.  Then, that night I got a call from David, Jr. and he told me that he and Wendy had been invited to the White House as well and he asked me if I could pick them up that morning and drive over with them.  They were both very nervous and what they didn’t know was I was probably just as nervous.

So, I picked them up at their hotel that morning and we drove over.  I actually found a parking space pretty close to the White House so we had just a short walk.  We entered through the North Gate and were escorted to the West Wing to a room with about 75 chairs and a podium.  I was standing next to David and Wendy, trying to soak it all in when an official came over and said to us “Excuse me, but the President would like a few words with you.”   They started to follow him and David looked back and waved me to follow him.   But I was stopped at the door and when it opened, I caught a glimpse of the President standing behind his desk in the Oval Office.  I mean, that was pretty cool…

After about 10 minutes, the three of them came out and the audience sat down.  I was in the front row, sitting next to California Senator Barbara Boxer.  The President spoke about the need for this bill, about how his administration would protect the clinics (while guaranteeing the first amendment rights of the protestors) and that was that.  He actually didn’t have the bill in front of him to sign, so I didn’t get one of those pens for a souvenir.  Then he was done, and we all started to mingle.

At one point, I took a step backwards and bumped into somebody.  When I turned around to apologize, I was face to face with the President.  Shaking, I stuck out my hand and thanked him for his help.  I will never forget how he looked at you straight in the eye, as if he was clinging to your every word, just you and him in the White House.  It was mesmerizing and I guess that is what made him such a great politician.

It took a while for the Clinton Administration to get its feet wet enforcing the new law and, of course, when the Bush crew came in not much happened.  I am now happy to see that the Obama Administration is going to aggressively enforce the law.   But it’s sad to think that after all of this time, it is a law that still needs to be enforced.

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