Letitia James sues to dam pro-life ‘terrorists’ from abortion-clinic protests
New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing for an injunction to dam a pro-life group from protesting inside 30 toes of abortion clinics, labeling the group’s activists as “terrorists.”
Ms. James requested a federal courtroom to create a 30-foot buffer zone round state abortion amenities to maintain out activists affiliated with Red Rose Rescue, who’ve a historical past of infiltrating clinics, providing purple roses to pregnant ladies, and refusing to go away till they’re arrested.
“We are also seeking civil penalties and damages because here in New York, access to abortion is legal and it will stay legal,” the Democratic lawmaker mentioned at a Thursday press convention at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Hempstead.
“It is my duty and my honor and my responsibility to keep individuals safe from terrorists, and that’s what they are,” she mentioned.
She acknowledged after being questioned by a reporter that Red Rose Rescue has not been labeled as a home terrorist group.
“They haven’t been designated as such,” Ms. James mentioned. “I refer to them as terrorists because of their activities.”
The lawsuit named 5 members of Red Rose Rescue, two of whom already are serving time in Michigan on trespassing convictions. The activists, Christopher Moscinski and Laura Gies, are also scheduled to be sentenced in New York on June 30 on fees stemming from their abortion-clinic protests.
“Only we have the right to make decisions about our own bodies — not anti-choice legislators, and not bigoted zealots,” Ms. James mentioned. “We will not allow Red Rose Rescue to harass and harangue New Yorkers with their outrageous militant tactics.”
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>I'm in Hempstead to announce a lawsuit in opposition to Red Rose Rescue, an anti-abortion group, for illegally invading reproductive well being care clinics in New York and disrupting companies and terrorizing sufferers.<br><br>Every New Yorker has the fitting to soundly entry reproductive care. <a href=”https://t.co/A5mKT3KcjR“>pic.twitter.com/A5mKT3KcjR</a></p>— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) <a href=”https://twitter.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1666869946943520768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“>June 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8”></script>
Monica Migliorino Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society and a Red Rose spokesperson, referred to as the lawyer basic’s “terrorist” accusation a “total propaganda lie – born from sheer pro-abortion politics.”
“Those who participate in Red Rose Rescues are quiet, loving and completely peaceful,” Ms. Miller mentioned in a press release. “Terrorism doesn’t save babies from abortion – love saves babies from abortion – and Red Rose Rescuers are committed to acts of love.”
She pointed to the Red Rose Rescue code of conduct, which requires members to “refrain from violence of any kind” and to keep away from “profanity, cursing, yelling, screaming, or loud arguing.”
“James should read the code before she spouts off her pro-abortion mischaracterization of those who want to help women and save innocent human beings from violent extermination!” mentioned Ms. Miller. “The abortion she supports is the real terrorism – terrorism carved into the crushed bodies of the aborted unborn.”
In the final two years, Ms. James mentioned the protesters have “terrorized” sufferers at three New York abortion clinics. In April 2021, an activist pretended to be a affected person to achieve entry to All Women’s Care in Manhasset, then let in her colleagues via a facet door, together with Moscinski.
“Moscinski brought in a black duffel bag carrying his friar robes. Patients panicked because they thought he had a gun,” Ms. James mentioned. “The members of Red Rose Rescue staged a die-in in the waiting room, refusing to leave, disrupting services, and scaring both patients and staff.”
Three of the activists have been carried out by police after going limp. They have been finally convicted of trespassing and second-degree obstruction.
Refusing to go away till they’re arrested is a “core mission of the group,” mentioned New York’s lawsuit.
“They have explained that they do this because ‘our experience is, that as long as there is a pro-life presence in the abortion clinic, the abortions are halted,’” the movement mentioned.
Ms. Miller accused the lawyer basic of “trampling on the right to free speech,” whereas Ms. James mentioned the group “has repeatedly violated our national and state clinic access laws, and they have pledged to continue to invade, intimidate, harass, interfere as long as abortion is being performed in any state.”
The lawyer basic has hurled the “terrorist” cost earlier than, ripping the National Rifle Association as a “terrorist organization” in a 2018 interview.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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