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Minister
arrested for praying, reading Bible
in front of DC abortion clinic
By Daniel
S. McClintock
http://www.cpinews.net/
June 21, 2002
Reverend Patrick
Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, was arrested in
Washington D.C. last Friday after praying and reading the Bible to close
to an abortion clinic.
United States Attorney General John Ashcroft was granted a federal
injunction against not only Rev. Mahoney, but also several other
pro-life activists this January. The order, which was issued just as
hundreds of thousands of anti-abortion protestors arrived in Washington
D.C. for the March of Life, make it illegal for pro-life demonstrators
to protest against abortion within 20 feet of an abortion clinic.
Ashcroft is not the first to have made this order. Former U.S. Attorney
General Janet Reno brought about the same injunction during the Clinton
administration, but it was thrown down.
CPI Investigators have obtained a copy of the order, in which it states:
"[B]uffer zones are necessary to ensure that people and vehicles
trying to enter or exit the clinic...can do so. The record shows that
protestors purposefully or effectively blocked or hindered people from
entering and exiting the clinic doorways. Based on this conduct. . . the
District Court was entitled to conclude that the only way to ensure
access was to move back the demonstrations..." Schenck 519 U.S. at
380.
The injunction said that the defendants (which included Rev. Mahoney)
were permanently enjoined from the following acts:
"Intentionally standing, sitting, lying, or kneeling in front of
entrances to any facility where abortions are performed, or otherwise
physically blockading or obstructing access to such facilities, located
within the boundaries of Interstate 495, popularly known as the Capital
Beltway;
"Intentionally, attempting, inducing, directing, aiding, or
abetting in any manner, others to take any of the actions described in
paragraph above;
"Intentionally coming within a twenty-foot radius of any facility
where abortions are performed that is located within the boundaries of
Interstate 495."
"If Mister Ashcroft wants to incarcerate an American citizen for
simply reading scripture on a public sidewalk, I would find that most
troubling, particularly in today's climate, where America is facing
terrorist attack," he said Tuesday, during an interview with
CNSNews.com.
Rev. Mahoney faces a possible six-month jail sentence for violating the
court order.
Mahoney is a well-known Christian social and political activist, in
addition to being an ordained minister in the Reformed Presbyterian
Church. He resides in Washington D.C. with is wife and three daughters.
Rev. Mahoney is well known for his many protests and activism projects
he has done in the past, including sleeping in a newspaper dumpster to
draw attention to the plight of homelessness. He is also a renowned
pro-life activist. |
