LAW OF THE LAND

Last-minute rule busts pro-lifers

22 arrested outside Supreme Court even though police had OK'd signs

Posted: April 28, 2000
1:00 am Eastern

By Julie Foster
© 2010 WorldNetDaily.com

As the Supreme Court finally began its historic look at partial-birth abortion, 22 pro-life demonstrators, including an 80-year-old woman, were being arrested outside for displaying pre-approved posters in front of the Supreme Court building while pro-choice demonstrators looked on.

Demonstrators had approached the Supreme Court Police weeks in advance of the gathering, informing the officers of the specific size and nature of their display. Though no permits were required for the public area, the group was told by the officers they have a First Amendment right to be there.

Pro-life demonstrators created a memorial graveyard for aborted babies on the grounds of the nation's capitol.

The group, sponsored by Operation Rescue and the Christian Defense Coalition, assembled in front of the courthouse on Easter Sunday, limiting its presence to the sidewalk. Protesters set up a series of four-foot high drawings depicting the partial birth abortion procedure. A fifth poster, six feet in length, showed a photo of a decapitated fetus that had been aborted using the controversial procedure.

For the next two days, the assembled protesters maintained a prayer vigil for the upcoming Supreme Court hearing on Nebraska's partial-birth abortion ban.

However, Tuesday morning, when the hearing took place, protesters were approached by Supreme Court Police officers who informed them the signs were no longer allowed.

Leaders Troy Newman of Operation Rescue West and Rev. Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition were presented with "regulation six," which states posters may be "no larger than 4 feet in length, 4 feet in width, and 1 inch in thickness."

Additionally, the regulation prohibits signs from being "arranged in such manner as to create a single sign at any one time."

Dawings depicting the partial birth abortion procedure were set up on either side of the courthouse on Easter Sunday, where they remained until confiscated by Supreme Court Police on Tuesday, the day of the hearing.

The group's five posters were arranged side-by-side so as to appear as one large display.

WorldNetDaily obtained a copy of the brand-new "regulation six," which was signed by Marshal Dale E. Bosley on April 25 -- the day of the partial-birth abortion hearing.

Newman told WorldNetDaily the confrontation, though a violation of the group's constitutional right to expression, was handled in a peaceful manner.

"[The officers] were so nice. They were very respectful of us," said Newman. "They seemed apologetic. They really treated us with kid gloves."

Despite the officers' kindness, 22 of the protesters were handcuffed and taken into custody for 12 hours after they objected to the new regulation and refused to remove the posters.

The largest poster showed a fetus that had been decapitated during the abortion procedure. Protesters insisted that abortion-rights activists should "see what they are defending."

"The court system saw what it is that they are protecting, so the only way to justify a pro-abortion vote is to conceal the truth of what they're voting for," Newman told WND. "In other words, when you vote for abortion, you condone child-killing. You must hide the very essence of what you are promoting. And when they (the justices) walked into the court that morning, they were confronted with the torn and broken bodies of the children who have died in partial-birth abortion. The conviction was so heavy that they removed the truth, which is typical of everyone in sin; they would rather hide it than confront it."

"They placed a woman's so-called right to kill a child above the First Amendment," he continued. "But I don't want the attention to be focused on my rights. This shouldn't turn into a First Amendment argument. We use that right to level the playing field, but we're out there to stand with the children. We're advocates for the pre-born. My rights fall to the ground when you have children that are being systematically dismembered."

"What makes you think we can have a strong Constitution and a strong Bill of Rights when found written in these sacred documents is the right to butcher children? If they can take away the right to life, what gives us the right to free speech?" Newman concluded.

WND contacted Supreme Court officials, but was told, "We don't comment on our regulations."

Bosley has statutory authority -- found in U.S. Code Title 40, Sections 13l and 13n -- to approve the new regulation, limiting expression on Supreme Court grounds and surrounding areas.

Specifically, "The Marshall of the Supreme Court may prescribe such regulations, approved by the Chief Justice of the United States, as may be deemed necessary ... for the maintenance of suitable order and decorum within the Supreme Court Building and grounds."

The Marshal and Supreme Court Police are also authorized "to police the Supreme Court Building and grounds, and adjacent streets for the purpose of protecting persons and property."

Both statutes were referenced by a spokeswoman for the Supreme Court in defense of the new regulation which led to the arrest of the pro-life demonstrators.

The National Association for Women had members present outside the courthouse Tuesday, demonstrating in favor of the currently legal late-term abortion procedure.

"The anti-abortion forces have proven to be lethal," said NOW California President Helen Greico. "It behooves all municipalities to take all precautions necessary" when faced with a confrontation between different sides of the abortion debate, she said.

Though the pro-life demonstrators had been present for two days prior to the hearing, pro-choice demonstrators did not arrive until Tuesday, prompting the new regulation, speculated Greico.

"You've got to realize these people are dangerous," she continued. "The days of peaceful protest are over because the opposition murdered people."

Greico said she was not surprised by the arrests, and expressed her regret that "democracy," which allows both sides to express their views, has been stifled.

"Police took action based on the track record of these protests," she concluded.

But Newman countered Greico's remarks, saying, "The pro-abortion crowd has fallen back on the only rhetoric they have left: that pro-lifers are violent, when it is truly them who are the ones who are killing children and committing infanticide."

The arrested protesters are scheduled to appear before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on June 28, though the date may be pushed back, according to Newman.