Pro-lifers reach protesting settlement
Pro-life counselors and demonstrators have settled their disagreement with Aurora, an Illinois city, concerning pro-life protests at the city's Planned Parenthood facility.
Picketing began with the construction of what became the second-largest Planned Parenthood abortion facility in the U.S. Pro-Life Action League spokesman Eric Scheidler tells OneNewsNow they ran into a serious snag during the protest.
"From the very first hour, we had trouble with the police," Scheidler explains. "The police chief at the time came over and was throwing his weight around and really made me feel a sense of hostility from the city, and we were getting contradictory orders right from the get-go." The pro-life advocate says law enforcement officers uttered conflicting instructions like, "You can't stand on the sidewalk; you have to stand on the grass; you can't stand on the grass; you can have signs; you can't have signs; you have to keep moving; you can stand still."
It became increasingly apparent to Scheidler that the group of pro-lifers had to fight for their rights.
"We filed a lawsuit early on to secure our rights with the city of Aurora," he accounts. "And as city officials realized that they had a problem on their hands because they had not been handling our protests appropriately with respect for our rights, they asked if we would try to come to some kind of settlement."
A settlement was reached, and all parties are now on the same frequency as protesters' rights are securely protected when speaking out against abortion facilities. In return, the pro-life group has agreed to a number of provisions and plans to drop its federal lawsuit against Aurora. Demonstrators are no longer being harassed, and this agreement ends the two-year dispute between the city and pro-life advocates.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: November 26, 2009
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Pro-life counselors and demonstrators have settled their disagreement with Aurora, an Illinois city, concerning pro-life protests at the city's Planned Parenthood facility.
Picketing began with the construction of what became the second-largest Planned Parenthood abortion facility in the U.S. Pro-Life Action League spokesman Eric Scheidler tells OneNewsNow they ran into a serious snag during the protest.
"From the very first hour, we had trouble with the police," Scheidler explains. "The police chief at the time came over and was throwing his weight around and really made me feel a sense of hostility from the city, and we were getting contradictory orders right from the get-go." The pro-life advocate says law enforcement officers uttered conflicting instructions like, "You can't stand on the sidewalk; you have to stand on the grass; you can't stand on the grass; you can have signs; you can't have signs; you have to keep moving; you can stand still."
It became increasingly apparent to Scheidler that the group of pro-lifers had to fight for their rights.
"We filed a lawsuit early on to secure our rights with the city of Aurora," he accounts. "And as city officials realized that they had a problem on their hands because they had not been handling our protests appropriately with respect for our rights, they asked if we would try to come to some kind of settlement."
A settlement was reached, and all parties are now on the same frequency as protesters' rights are securely protected when speaking out against abortion facilities. In return, the pro-life group has agreed to a number of provisions and plans to drop its federal lawsuit against Aurora. Demonstrators are no longer being harassed, and this agreement ends the two-year dispute between the city and pro-life advocates.
Contact: Charlie Butts
Source: OneNewsNow
Publish Date: November 26, 2009
Link to this article.
Send this article to a friend.
