VENTURA : Abortion Protesters’ Appeal to Be Heard

The 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed Thursday to hear the appeal of three people convicted of blocking the entrance to a Ventura abortion clinic in July, 1989.

Catherine Garziano, Loren Broyles and Raymundo Rodriguez Jr. were among about 50 people who blocked the entrance of the Family Planning Medical Clinic on Telegraph Road.

Of the 17 arrested, 14 pleaded no contest to charges of obstructing a public passage and refusing to disperse. But Garziano, Broyles and Rodriguez pleaded not guilty and were convicted, after defending their conduct on the grounds of necessity.

“They were there specifically to stop unborn children from being killed,” said their attorney, Robert D. Silver.

The so-called necessity defense can absolve a person who violates a law to prevent a greater harm. For example, someone cited for speeding while rushing an injured person to the hospital might raise the necessity defense in traffic court.

In the abortion clinic case, Municipal Judge Steven Hintz allowed jurors to consider the necessity defense over the objections of prosecutors. But Hintz did not allow jurors to see crucial evidence about what happens to a fetus during an abortion, Silver said. He said such evidence is important for a jury to evaluate the “greater harm” that the defendants were trying to prevent.

In December, a three-judge appellate panel of the Ventura County Superior Court upheld the verdict, noting that there was no harm involved because abortion is legal under both the state and federal constitutions.

“It’s the first time a court has said that if something is legal, it can’t be evil,” Silver said, adding that alcohol and nicotine addiction are legal but harmful.