PETITION: Support pro-lifers threatened and arrested for praying outside of abortion facilities

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4/22/2020 PETITION DELIVERIES TO STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS TAKE PLACE ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES

WATCH below as Gualberto Garcia Jones, Director of Advocacy at LifeSite, delivers 15,000 signatures to civic and law enforcement officials in Hagerstown, Maryland, where a local pro-lifer had been threatened with a $5,000 fine for peacefully praying outside the city's only abortion facility.

This is the first of many petition deliveries which are taking place all around the country - from Maryland and New York to Alabama and North Carolina, from Wisconcin and Ohio to Colorado and California. Pro-lifers in these states, and many other, are pushing back against unconstitutional restrictions of our right to free speech and freedom of assembly - all while ensuring to observe social distancing protocols.

The bottom line is that, where state or local government insists that abortions can continue even in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, pro-lifers will assert their right to be there, to offer the "essential service" of praying for, and, in some cases, counseling abortion-minded women to save the lives of their preborn children, and not add to the country's mounting death toll.

Thank you for continuing to SIGN and SHARE this petition, which will be "live" until pro-lifers are no longer being harassed and arrested by state and local authorities for exercising their constitutional rights.

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4/4/2020 BREAKING NEWS ALERT! - Benham Brother arrested for sidewalk counseling!

This morning, @daviddbenham was unlawfully arrested while supporting sidewalk counselors outside an abortion clinic. Many have labeled David a fake Christian and claimed that he endangered lives by being out. These accusations couldn’t further from the truth. pic.twitter.com/5NB629z3CH

— Benham Brothers (@BenhamBrothers) April 5, 2020

It is a shameful travesty that authorities around the country refuse to shut down dangerous abortion facilities while they continue to crack down on the peaceful Christians who - while obeying social distancing directives - are the last hope for rescuing pre-born children.

This is why LifePetitions and the Personhood Alliance are joining forces to stand with our prayer warriors and pro-life sidewalk counselors around the country, and we need your help to demand that this STOP right now!

WATCH as police arrest four pro-life men in Greensboro, North Carolina for praying and ministering to abortion-minded people outside of an abortion facility, just this past weekend. When they returned on Monday, seven were arrested and had to be bailed out by Pastor Keith Pavlansky, the leader of Personhood North Carolina!

SIGN this petition which will be sent to our pro-life friends in North Carolina and around the country, to deliver to the authorities.

And, this is happening across the country. In California, pro-life sidewalk counselors were threatened with arrest for offering help outside of abortion facilities, there.

The San Francisco Police Dept. approached one pro-lifer outside of Planned Parenthood, instructing him to leave, saying simply the act of pro-life sidewalk counseling was a violation of the Stay-at-Home Order, even though he was keeping a 6-foot distance from others. The police told him that he would be cited if he returned.

Meanwhile, preborn children continued to be killed inside these buildings by abortionists who are completely undeterred by the clear and present danger of spreading the coronavirus, all while using up badly needed medical resources.

By SIGNING this petition you will be sending a strong show of support for pro-life sidewalk counselors around the country.

These brave men and women are the real deal, they are the last best hope for so many babies and young parents in danger of an abortion.

If we ever hope to gain God's favor as a nation we must stand right next to these brave pro-lifers.

The young men who were arrested in NC over the weekend, part of a group of sidewalk counselors called Love Life -  Charlotte, were released and immediately called for the support of local pastors, who courageously showed up on Monday to pray and attempt to counsel women and men away from the evil of abortion.  

However, the police proceeded to arrest the pastors and the young men, while continuing to allow the operation of the abortuary.

Following Monday's arrests, local police told the press that the prayer and sidewalk counselors "would be considered non-essential and protesters would be given a citation or be arrested."

The order under which the police were purportedly acting expressly permits recreational activity such as golf and hiking, so it is unclear why being outdoors for constitutionally protected purposes such as prayer and sidewalk counseling would be less permissible, provided social distancing was being practiced.

As has been the case for the last 40 years, pro-life sidewalk counselors are the first and often last line of defense for our preborn brothers and sisters.

Please SIGN this petition and show them that their courage and conviction is appreciated. Thank you!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

'More Pro-Lifers arrested as abortion industry capitalizes on COVID-19' - https://personhood.org/2020/04/03/more-pro-lifers-arrested-as-abortion-industry-capitalizes-on-covid-19/

'Police arrest pro-lifers...' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/police-arrest-pro-lifers-outside-abortion-center-for-allegedly-breaking-stay-at-home-order

'Seven more pro-lifers arrested...' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/7-more-pro-lifers-arrested-for-praying-against-abortion-in-north-carolina

UPDATE (4/4/2020) - 

So far, 12 states have attempted to stop abortions as non-essential services during the crisis, while 13 states have done the opposite and specifically included the killing of preborn babies as an “essential service.”

While Oklahoma and Iowa have mandated that abortions stop, their citizens remain at risk from neighboring states who have not. Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Indiana have issued direct orders to close their state’s abortion facilities, but the abortion industry continues to defy those orders, putting the states and nation at risk.

And, Texas also stopped abortions, but was challenged in court by Planned Parenthood. Thankfully, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the abortion ban to go into effect.

But, meanwhile, police in North Carolina, California, Wisconsin and Minnesota have been busy monitoring, and sometimes harassing and arresting pro-life sidewalk counselors.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, police responded to a call that sidewalk counselors were in violation of the state’s stay-at-home ordinance. At first, the officers allowed them to stay, but later they returned with four squad cars and threatened them with arrest if they did not leave the premises immediately.

Dan Miller, State Director of Personhood Alliance affiliate Pro-Life Wisconsin stated: "The judges have all gone home. The courts are at a standstill. How long would it take before a case was even heard?"

Since that time, sidewalk counselors have been able to continue their work, though the prospect of shutting down their efforts remains.

In Minnesota, the situation has been markedly different. Police have monitored pro-lifers' activities, but sidewalk counselors have been free from harassment.

Brian Gibson, Executive Director of Pro-Life Action Ministries, said he believes this is largely due to coordinated efforts to build relationships with local police and city attorneys prior to the stay-at-home order going into effect.

In all of these states, the strong pro-life presence is an amazing testament to the courage and convictions of the local men and women who understand the grave hypocrisy of the state telling citizens to do everything to save lives, while abortion facilities continue to take innocent lives and gobble up medical resources so desperately needed by COVID-19 victims.

It is also a testament to the faith in God, which enables these brave men and women to continue their advocacy for the preborn, in spite of threat of jail time, or actual arrest.

Please SIGN this joint LifeSite-Personhood Alliance petition which sends a strong show of support to the brave pro-life men and women across the country, who remain unbowed even in this time of crisis.

Thank you!