25 Arrested at Abortion Clinic Protest

Anti-abortion activists forced a showdown with police outside the entrance to a North Hollywood women’s heath clinic Saturday morning as supporters of abortion rights chanted and cheered the arrests of nearly two dozen of their opponents.

Police arrested 25 people, most of them abortion foes who failed to disperse after several warnings. Instead, the protesters linked arms and sat on the sidewalk in front of the storefront entrance to the Clinica Medica Para la Mujer in a strip mall on Sherman Way.

Abortion opponents had come to challenge a new federal law with tough penalties for blocking access to health clinics or intimidating people entering the facilities. But they were vastly outnumbered--roughly 300 to 70--by a highly organized contingent of abortion rights supporters. And it is still unclear whether the abortion foes will be charged under the statute they wish to challenge.

Arrests were made without violence, though a few people had to be carried away or restrained with wrist holds. At least two abortion rights activists were arrested for interfering with police.

Among the abortion foes arrested were Jeff White, the controversial leader of Operation Rescue California, and his two oldest children, Danielle, 11, and Alison, 13. White and several of his colleagues--all based in Blue Jay, near Lake Arrowhead--came to Los Angeles specifically to challenge the 1994 federal access to clinic entrances law. White argues that the law singles out anti-abortion activity for harsher treatment than that meted out to other kinds of civil disobedience.

“I hope you can see this is a peaceful protest,” White called out to reporters as he and other abortion opponents were handcuffed and led to waiting Los Angeles Police Department buses. “Peaceful protest should not be a felony in America.”

(First-time nonviolent offenders in fact are charged with misdemeanors; the offense becomes a felony if repeated.)

White’s words were quickly drowned out by the cheers of abortion rights demonstrators, who chanted, “Hey, hey, what do you say, read ‘em their rights and take ‘em away.” As the buses pulled away, one detained protester, cuffed behind his back, fluttered his bound hands in a wave to the crowd.

Though the anti-abortion activists got arrested as planned, the abortion rights forces outmaneuvered them by arriving at the clinic first and safely escorting some staff and patients inside, according to Katherine Spillar, national coordinator of the Feminist Majority Foundation, which runs a clinic defense project.

“The turnout was good, our tactical maneuvers went off without a hitch and I’m anxious to see prosecutions,” Spillar said.

All but two of the arrested activists were later released after being charged mostly with failure to disperse and disorderly conduct. Late Saturday, anti-abortion leaders Joseph Foreman and Gary McCullough were being held for outstanding warrants for begging, according to LAPD Officer Don Cox.

A federal prosecutor would not comment on whether the demonstrators would be charged with violating the clinic access law which, for first-time nonviolent offenders, can carry a fine of six months in federal prison and a $100,000 fine. “It’s an ongoing investigation,” said David R. Fields, an assistant U.S. attorney who said prosecutors would probably make a decision in the next week.

White, fresh from his brief jail stay, declared the protest a success, especially in light of incidents of violence that have tarred the anti-abortion movement.

“Certainly Operation Rescue got everything out of this day that we were hoping for--a clear challenge to the freedom of access to clinic entrances law and a peaceful day,” said White in a phone interview.

The targeted clinic, which serves a mostly poor and Latino population, sits sandwiched between a nail salon and a Chinese restaurant. By 9:30 a.m. Saturday, police--bracing for a larger crowd than they got--had cordoned off several streets and confined all protesters to sidewalks.

Abortion rights activists had arrived at the clinic before their opponents, because, according to Spillar, they had taken an educated guess at 10 clinics they thought might be targeted--including the one in North Hollywood--and sent some people to each one. Once the anti-abortion activists arrived, the abortion rights forces phoned backup supporters.

Many abortion foes at the demonstration said they condemn the violence that has occurred at other clinics across the country. They also complained that the federal government has tried to silence their views with the new law.

“It’s total discrimination against the message we carry,” said Sharon Fullilove, 51, who drove in from Riverside County for the protest.

They said the new law had a chilling effect on turnout by abortion opponents. One looked visibly nervous as she watched mounted police approach a sidewalk where she was standing. “I’ve risked arrest before,” she said, “and today is not the day.”