In 1969, a pregnant 21 year old Norma McCorvey felt abortion was her only answer. Her case was used to challenge the Texas abortion law and she eventually became the Jane Roe of the 1973 US Supreme Court decision, Roe v Wade. She never had an abortion, but instead became an icon in the national abortion debate. For 22 years, Norma McCorvey’s life was a battlefield. She worked inside abortion clinics. She promoted legalized abortion. But she was tormented by what she saw and felt. In the summer of 1995, her life changed forever.

Through the friendship of a pro-life leader and a special invitation from a 7-year old child, Jane Roe finally died so Norma Leah McCorvey could live. This is her story.

Special News Broadcast recorded from ABC Evening News for Thursday, Aug 10, 1995

Interview by Ted Koppel (ABC) with Norma McCorvey (a.k.a. Jane Roe) re: her recent decision to join Operation Rescue in opposing abortion, despite having been the plaintiff in the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in 1973.

Taped segment with Cokie Roberts (ABC), McCorvey, pro-choice activist Gloria Allred, Operation Rescue National Director Reverend Flip Benham, Susan Hill of the National Women’s Health Organization, Helen Alvare of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, pro-choice activist Kate Michelman, and unidentified others.

Norma McCorvey of Roe v. Wade describes how she was approached by Sarah Weddington to sign a false affidavit claiming she was raped. She became “Roe” of the Supreme Court decision that, together with Doe v. Bolton, legalized child murder in all 50 states through all nine months. She describes how the guilt almost took her life and her conversion to Jesus Christ many years later.

The vision, message and growth of Operation Rescue depicting those who placed their bodies before the abortion mills in order to rescue children and mothers from the great American holocaust.

Federal court decides in favor of pro-lifers

MELBOURNE, Florida (FR) – In a major victory for pro-life activists, a federal appeals court ruled that a court ordered injunction against pro-lifers at a Melbourne abortion clinic infringed on freedom of speech. The court said that the order issued by Circuit Judge Robert McGregor should be lifted. In April, McGregor created a buffer zone around the Aware Woman abortion clinic in Melbourne that kept pro-life demonstrators from getting too close. About 150 pro-lifers were arrested earlier this year for violating the court order. (The Forerunner April/May 1993, “Christians Are Arrested For Praying.”)

The federal court noted that Judge McGregor created a criminal statue prohibiting “pro-life free speech activity in a certain geographical location.” Because the injunction contained “viewpoint specific” discrimination (i.e., it prohibited only pro-life free speech) it was deemed unconstitutional. This decision has monumental importance in the legal war over abortion and will be used as a precedent in arguing similar cases all over the country.

The appeal was won by Matthew D. Staver, attorney and president of the Liberty Counsel. Staver’s case was argued on behalf of Myrna Cheffer, an Orlando area pro-life activist. Cheffer was not among the 150 pro-life individuals who were arrested for entering the buffer zone. Nevertheless, she filed this suit in federal district court seeking to prohibit enforcement of the state court injunction. Cheffer claimed that the injunction acted as a prior restraint on her free speech rights and that the threat of arrest chilled her ability to exercise these rights. The federal appeals court ruled in favor of Cheffer and handed the order back down to the district court recommending that it be repealed.

According to Staver: “It’s a landmark decision. This particular order is one of the strongest of its kind as it relates to abortion picketing and free speech. It specifically indicates that this injunction is viewpoint oriented, content specific and it violates free speech. It is also significant as it relates to the buffer zone legislation that was going to be before the Florida legislature next week placing 50-foot buffer zones around abortion clinics and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances bill on the federal level. This decision will clearly allow suits against those type of buffer zone restrictions. This particular injunction goes way beyond trying to restrict trespass or things of that nature. It restricts picketing that occurs within a traditional sidewalk, highway, residential area.

“We now have a conflict in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on the federal level and the Florida Supreme Court in their interpretation. That will be very strong basis on which the United States Supreme Court could accept this case on the appeal. In the meantime, we will ask the federal court to block the continued enforcement of this injunction. I would also caution the city of Melbourne Police Department from making arrests of people while they are within that 36-foot buffer zone because I think they tread a very thine line upon which they could be sued under this federal court ruling for deprivation of individual civil rights.”

The following are excerpts from Chief Judge Gerald Tjoflat’s decision: “Perhaps few Americans are content with the current legal status of abortion in America. Many see a woman’s ability to choose abortion as a part of her fundamental constitutional right to self-determination that is ill-protected by wavering jurisprudence by the Supreme Court. Many others see the 1.4 million abortions each year as an American Holocaust permitted by the moral vacillation of the government. This case arises out of the clash of these opposing beliefs, and governmental attempts to restrict their free expression.

“On April 8, 1993, Judge McGregor issued an Amended Permanent Injunction in which he enjoined certain activities of Operation Rescue and others in a court-drawn ‘buffer zone’ surrounding the abortion clinic…. On its face, the injunction appears to ‘criminalize’ various acts of peaceful protest, including the mere penetration of the buffer zone by anyone acting ‘in concert’ with those named in the injunction … The local police understood the injunction to require them to arrest ‘pro-life’ individuals who violated the buffer zone.

“An injunction is an extraordinary remedy that operates only on the parties before the court. Legislation operates more broadly, extending to all actors within the legislature’s jurisdiction. Nevertheless, when Judge McGregor issued the Amended Permanent Injunction in the state case, he, in effect, created a criminal statute prohibiting ‘pro-life’ free speech in a certain geographical location. But by extending the injunction to nonparties and by attaching criminal penalties otherwise protected by the Constitution, Judge McGregor crafted a law…. We refuse to prefer form over substance; the injunction has all the attributes of a criminal statute and we will treat it accordingly….

“That free speech restrictions at issue here are viewpoint-based cannot be seriously doubted. Such a restriction is no more viewpoint-neutral than one restricting the speech of ‘the Republican Party, the state Republican Party, George Bush, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp and all persons acting in concert with them or on their behalf.’ The practical effect of this section of the injunction was to assure that while ‘pro-life’ speakers would be arrested, ‘pro-choice’ demonstrators would not. A viewpoint-specific restriction in a traditional public forum is unconstitutional….

“The Supreme Court has noted that ‘[t]he loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.’ This is apparently precisely what occurred. Several of those arrested testified that they were designated for arrest by clinic workers and police officers because they were perceived to be ‘pro-life.’ Judge McGregor accepted this interpretation of the intent of the injunction and explained (to the arrestees): ‘[T]he injunction did not pertain to those on the other side of the issue, because the word “in concert with” means in concert with those who had taken a certain position in respect to the clinic, adverse to the clinic. If you are saying that is the selective basis that the pro-choice were not arrested when pro-life was arrested, that’s the basis of the selection….’

“It is tempting, of course, to entertain the argument that the speech in this case is disruptive, discourteous, and offensive, but that is irrelevant…. We protect much that offends in the name of free speech – we cannot refuse such protection to those who find abortion morally reprehensible. The district court treated the state court injunction as an ordinary injunction when it had the effect of a criminal statute. Consequently, the order of the district court was founded on a mistake of law. We vacate the order, and remand for further consideration of the issuance of a preliminary injunction in light of this opinion.

This article originally appeared on Forerunner.com.  Published with permission.

What’s Behind the Pro-Abortion Rhetoric

“He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has fallen into the hole which he has made.
His mischief will return upon his own head,
And his violence will descend upon his own pate.”

– Psalms 7:15,16 –

Until recently, the pro-abortion activists of America were content to decry the political and social efforts of the pro-life resistance. The non-violent activities of Operation Rescue groups in closing down abortion clinics were belittled as “ineffective.” Pro-life campaigns – such as Spring of Life in Buffalo, Summer of Purpose in Baton Rouge, Summer of Mercy in Wichita and Cities of Refuge in seven cities across America – were labelled “Operation Fizzle.”

To get their point across, abortion advocates used (as Randall Terry terms them) “the self-inflated ideological lap dogs of the death industry” – the liberal media. The strategy of the pro-abortion camp was to portray the rescue movement as being a bothersome yet futile fringe group. The liberal media quoted other pro-life leaders as saying that Operation Rescue was counter-productive to their cause. If the pro-life camp could be portrayed as divided against themselves, pro-aborts thought, they could be easily conquered.

But now everything has changed. The “oppressive anti-choice Reagan/Bush regime” has been defeated. Bill and Hillary are in the White House. The abortion advocates have a solid pro-death president, who signed five executive orders on his first day on the job making child-killing easier and more profitable than ever. In one stroke of the pen, our nation’s president gave the abortion industry five hundred million dollars and legalized medical experimentation on live fetuses.

They ought to be happy. But they are not. A type of schizophrenia has set in. Rescue groups which were previously dismissed as “ineffective” and “counter-productive” and which had “fizzled” are now being labelled as a serious threat to the death industry. Pro-abortion activists now derisively label rescue groups as the “Green Berets” of the pro-life movement. In other words, they are viewed as the shock troops who are getting the job done. Suddenly, the same people who hailed Bill Clinton as their messiah are worried about the ineffectiveness of his pro-abortion legislation. What good are pro-abortion laws if there are no doctors who will perform abortions?

Even the pro-death media have begun to realize that despite all their previous rhetoric to the contrary: “The anti-abortion activists may be winning.“1 So the strategy has changed. The rescue movement is no longer portrayed as ineffective. Suddenly it has become an “orchestrated strategic campaign of terror.“2 Time magazine claimed that Operation Rescue National used “a sophisticated array of technology“3 in fighting abortion. The media has frequently claimed that ORN is a well-funded, highly-organized and technologically advanced paramilitary force. In reality, fewer rescues are being staged and the total number of arrests nationwide are down. Yet the abortion advocates are “frightened, scared, and terrorized” by a campaign of what they term “harassment and intimidation.”

The truth is that the pro-life side is making progress against abortion because of dedicated servants who stand day-by-day in front of abortion clinics and counsel women not to have their babies slaughtered. They are winning because of the peaceful efforts of people who maintain their first amendments rights to free speech and demonstrate peacefully in exposing abortion for what it is: child killing.

In reading this, you may be asking: “What makes this guy such an expert? How can he speak with such authority about what really happens in front of abortion clinics?”

For one thing, my new address is 1575 Dixie Way, Melbourne, Florida – otherwise known as the “Green House.” This is the house directly across the street from 1564 Dixie Way, otherwise infamously known as the Aware Woman Killing Center. I have been here since September 1st, producing The Forerunner out of a home office. Almost everyday I observe the activities of sidewalk counselors and prayer supporters.

The front lawn of the Green House may be the pro-life media capital of the world. I have encountered reporters on Dixie Way from the local news to CNN to the BBC to German and Japanese television. These reporters most often show up for a few minutes, take a few photos, shoot some videotape, get a few quotes and then rush off to spout their pro-death rhetoric.

But my perspective is unique. I live here. I see what really happens day-to-day. I read and view the media reports sensationalizing the activities to the point of surrealism. The most outrageous report thus far was by Paul Solotaroff of Rolling Stone magazine. In a lengthy, caricatured, Dali-esque article, Rolling Stone portrayed Aware Woman owner Patricia Baird-Windle as a suffering saint and “one of the most persecuted women in America.” Local pro-life leaders were painted as a movement led “almost entirely by white men” who “fit the Son of Sam profile.“4

The most disheartening media coverage, however, has not come from magazines such as Rolling Stone, but from Christian publications whose style resembles more that of the National Enquirer than of reputable journalism. Some Christian journalists have relied almost solely on second-hand news reporting and sound-bites of pro-life leaders taken out of context by the liberal media. It has been discouraging to me to hear and read bad reports of the rescue movement by fellow Christians.

A Personal Testimony

This is the reason I first came to Melbourne – to see for myself what was really happening here. I wanted to get to know the pro-life leaders on a personal basis and find out first hand what their character was like. What I have found is that the Rescue movement has changed little from the time when I first took part in pro-life activities in 1989 in Brookline, Massachusetts. The only major difference is that the movement has concentrated more on training leaders and has produced more focused and diversified ministries.

This has been my experience – God used my participation in Operation Rescue to call me into ministry through writing for The Forerunner. My first articles as a contributing editor in 1989 dealt with my thoughts and experiences from having taken part in several rescues in the Boston area. In the years that followed, I covered the abortion issue and the activities of the rescue movement frequently in The Forerunner. But my personal “activism” in pro-life did not extend beyond this.

That was until 1993, when I began to find that many Christian leaders who were previously favorable to Operation Rescue were beginning to back off their supportive stance. This was undoubtedly due to the biased media coverage which portrayed the rescue movement as being “violent, intolerant, extremist and arrogant.”

Understanding that “the fear of man is a snare,” I came to Melbourne to meet pro-life leaders Bruce Cadle and Keith Tucci. I found them to be extremely friendly, hospitable and approachable people. At that time, the IMPACT training school – a 12-week discipleship course attended by 22 local and national leaders – was in full swing. The first day I arrived, I was allowed to sit in on one of these supposedly “secret” training sessions. I had lunch with Keith and some of the IMPACT students. Bruce later invited me to his house late that afternoon for pizza where we discussed revival and reformation for about an hour before an evening pro-life rally.

Dr. David Gunn, a Pensacola abortionist, had just been shot a few weeks before this. Although this was an tragic occurrence, it was totally unrelated to the IMPACT training school. According to Keith Tucci, rescue leaders received numerous death threats after Gunn’s murder. Death threats against the non-violent pro-life leaders in Melbourne were never reported by the national media.

I later took part in the April 10th demonstration in front of the Aware Woman clinic and was arrested for violating a court ordered injunction against pro-lifers. I spent the next seven days in the Brevard county jail with Keith Tucci and a several local leaders. Not only did I get to see the character of these people up close for an extended time period, but the jail time itself was a life transforming experience. For several months, I had been considering moving to another city. When I found out that Keith was going to make Melbourne his permanent base and pastor a church in town, I began to seriously consider moving to Melbourne as soon as the lease was up on my Orlando apartment.

Providentially, the house across the street from the Aware Woman clinic had been purchased by a Melbourne area resident and leased to the pro-life community shortly before the injunction was issued. This allowed sidewalk counseling to go on unhindered on the opposite side of the street during the months when the injunction stood. The first time I entered the “Green House” was April 18th, the day after I was released from Brevard county jail. As I surveyed the layout of the house, I had the strange idea that I might be living there someday. I didn’t realize at the time that this thought had been divinely implanted.

I became a part of New Life Family Church, pastored by Keith Tucci, when it began in June. By this time, I had completely forgotten about my passing idea for the Green House. The local pro-life leaders are seeking a variance that would allow them to open up a crisis pregnancy center directly across the street from the killing center. Knowing that I was looking for a place to live in Melbourne, a local leader asked me: “Why don’t you move into the Green House?” Until renovation begins on the house sometime in 1994, I will be living on the location of “pro-life media capital of the world.”

Examining the Issue of Violence

Even though media spokesmen for Operation Rescue have denounced violent acts from the very beginning of the movement, many believe that Operation Rescue National and other rescue groups are somehow responsible. This is a question that needs to be examined objectively:

Has there been an increase of violence due to the influence of Operation Rescue?

According to statistics compiled by a pro-abortion group, the National Abortion Federation, overall violence has decreased since the appearance of OR. The peak of violent acts against abortuaries and clinic workers was from 1984 to 1986 when there was a rash of fires and bombings. Since 1987, when rescue events began to become more common place, there has been an overall decrease of violence against clinics and abortionists.

Undoubtedly, the reason for this is that rescue events give people a non-violent outlet to oppose abortion at the place where the killing goes on otherwise unhindered. People who felt strongly that they needed to stop the physical act of abortion were given an outlet. Without this outlet, some of these same people may have turned violent. This was the case before Operation Rescue appeared.

Recently, however, there has been an increase in violence. There are indeed a “fringe element” among pro-lifers who have turned more violent. The federal government and court ordered injunctions have begun to clamp down on demonstrations in front of abortion clinics. The new surge of violence is undoubtedly due to the frustration of singular people. More legislation against pro-life activities in front of abortion clinics will most likely result in more violence. Director of Operation Rescue National Keith Tucci testified to this before a Senate committee in March:

“There is no doubt in my mind that should this State push this sort of legislation, it will be responsible for escalating the confrontation at abortion facilities and for some to resort to abusive acts. This Senate and House will send a horrid message to the pro-life community. The message will serve as a match in a tinderbox. The message will be one of tremendous contempt and spite. And, the message will be devoid of any balm for the wounds inflicted on our national community by Roe v. Wade.“5

The distortion invented by abortion advocates and propagated by the liberal media that pro-life activists are violent terrorists will only serve to exacerbate and not ameliorate the problem of violence. It is the fruition of the blatant disrespect for human life fostered by a pro-death ideology. Like the “enemy” in Psalm seven, the mischief and violence promoted by the pro-abortion camp will descend upon their own heads.

The Myth of Neutrality

The greatest contributor to the problem of violence is the sensationalistic coverage of the abortion issue by the liberal media.

“What most Americans know – or think we know – is what we have been told by the media. Few of us have arrived at our position on abortion by careful research. Rather, we have accepted whatever we have been told. For years the pro-choice position has had a hotline to our brains. By reading newspapers and magazines and watching television, we have all earned the equivalent of a doctorate in pro-choice thinking.“6

One of the greatest myths propagated by the media is that they are unbiased on the abortion issue. There is no such thing as neutrality when dealing with moral issues. Jesus said, “He who is not for me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). With any moral issue, there are only two sides: the side of Jesus Christ and the side of the devil. On the abortion issue, the liberal media has taken the side of the devil.

The Los Angeles Times, for instance, required its writers to use pro-abortion terminology. David Shaw of the LA Times gives many illustrations of media bias on abortion in a study conducted in 1989: “Abortion opponents are often described as ‘militant’ or ‘strident.’ Such characterizations are seldom used to describe abortion-rights advocates, many of whom can be militant or strident – or both.“7

If objectivity is defined as truth, then a journalist could report the facts of current events in the context of the moral Law of God. For instance, imagine a television reporter covering events from a biblical perspective:

“This is so-and-so reporting live for CNN in Melbourne, Florida. We are here live at the Aware Woman Center for Choice where 20 abortions have been performed today. On either side of the street we have activists promoting both sides of the issue. There are about 40 people demonstrating in favor of life and 17 people defending the clinic’s ability to perform abortions. Standing beside me is Patricia Baird-Windle owner of the abortion clinic. Patricia, can you justify abortion when there are so many people here who believe that it is the killing of unborn infants?”

Both sides would be given equal time to present their argument live with no sound-bites. The reporter may be objective in her presentation of the facts. Instead of referring to the “right to abortion” and the “orchestrated campaign of intimidation and harassment by anti-abortion protestors,” the reporter would merely state the facts in light of biblical truth. The fact that abortion is murder; that it is child-killing; that the pro-choice ideology also spells death for unborn babies will never be hidden because it is an immutable fact sustained by the objective truth of the Word of God.

Removing the Smokescreens

The Bible portrays Satan as “the father of lies” and as a thief who comes to “steal, kill and destroy.” So we shouldn’t be surprised when we see pro-abortion media using the methods of the devil to portray the pro-life movement.

The smokescreens offered up by the media are contrived to keep the focus off the issue of the life of the unborn child. Instead of dealing with the issue of abortion there is the attempt to put the emphasis on alleged “violence” and “oppression” against abortionists, clinic owners and women seeking an abortion. Christians may counter various smokescreens by not being drawn into the argument on pro-death terms, but focusing instead on biblical truth.

Smokescreen #1 – There is a growing persecution of abortion doctors.

The Truth – Abortionists are murderers. If our society’s laws recognized that the Bible equates child-killing with one of the most detestable acts in the sight of God, then this would not even be an issue. Abortionists would be tried and punished for their murders.

Smokescreen # 2 – All the violence has been carried out by the pro-life side.

The Truth – Just within the past year, two Christian ministers who were vocal about their pro-life views were murdered by people who were pro-abortion. There have been numerous instances of death threats and violence directed at pro-lifers. At rescue events nearly all of the people who are arrested are pro-life activists peacefully blocking a clinic door. Whenever a pro-abortion demonstrator is arrested it is usually due to an act of violence on a pro-lifer or on a police officer. There are numerous documented incidences of police brutality against rescuers. The liberal media has not shown this.

Smokescreen # 3 – The shootings of abortionists Tiller and Gunn were not spontaneous acts or isolated incidents.

The Truth – They were.

Smokescreen # 4 – Those who take part in rescue events are extremists and religious fanatics from the fringe element.

The Truth – Rescuers make up a broad spectrum of Christians and form a widely varied demographic. Most rescuers are arrested for the unborn once or twice a year on average, and fill their time with many other pro-life efforts, such as crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life education, literature distribution, sidewalk counseling, picketing, boycotts, political action, Life Chain and many other activities.

Smokescreen # 5 – The pro-life movement is led almost entirely by men.

The Truth – More women than men oppose abortion. According to a 1989 New York Times poll, 59 percent of women opposed abortion while only 46 percent of men opposed it. The great majority of pro-life workers are women. The staffs of groups such as Right to Life, Birthright, Crisis Pregnancy Centers and Operation Rescue National are made up of a majority of women. Pro-life rallies are attended by a majority of women with a heavy representation of youth and children. Even if this accusation were true, men ought to be able to take leadership. The killing of the unborn is a moral issue, not a gender issue.

Smokescreen #6 – At least two-thirds of Americans are pro-choice.

The Truth – In poll after poll, the vast majority of Americans have indicated that abortion, in up to 98 percent of the cases should be restricted. A poll conducted March 27-29, 1989, by The Boston Globe showed that most Americans would ban the vast majority of abortions performed in this country. Seventy-two percent said they would allow abortion in no circumstances or limit abortion to the circumstances that make up less than three percent of all abortions.

Smokescreen # 7 – It is unfair to bring “unwanted children” into the world.

The Truth – One and a half million married couples want to adopt children, yet these “unwanted children” are short in supply. Perhaps abortion is in part responsible for the occurrence of “black market babies,” a practice in which children are kidnapped by underworld organizations and sold to couples who are unable to adopt. The concept of “unwanted children” needs to be eradicated from our national consciousness.

Smokescreen # 8 – Abortion is a woman’s fundamental constitutional right.

The Truth – The so-called “fundamental right to an abortion” is based on an extremely flawed interpretation of the 14th amendment. Supreme Court Justice Blackmun stated in an interview with The Village Voice that the unborn are not included in the definition of the word person. Referring to the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States … No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of the law,” Blackmun concluded, “So, the word person does not include the unborn.”

The phrase “All persons” does not mean “only those persons”; the term is inclusive, not exclusive. The words “born” and “naturalized” are descriptive terms referring to “persons” – the intent of this amendment was to grant equal rights to all people, and (together with the 13th and 15th Amendments) to abolish slavery. This statement does not define what a person is, but states inclusively (not exclusively) which persons ought to be considered citizens and have the rights of life, liberty and freedom.

If Blackmun’s reasoning was followed, only those born or naturalized in the United States should be considered “persons.” What about those born outside the United States? Are they not considered persons, either? Should illegal aliens be killed the same way that abortionists butcher babies? It is amazing that a man who ascended to such a high seat of power applied such flawed thinking to a decision making process.

These are just a few of the arguments of the pro-death ideology that are easily refuted. The Forerunner recommends as an excellent resource to those who want to arm themselves against the pro-death rhetoric: Pro Life Answers to Pro Choice Arguments, by Randy Alcorn, Multinomah Books, P.O. Box 1720, Sisters OR 97759.

1 ABC-TV’s Day One, October 19, 1993.
2 Ibid.
3 Time, “Camp for Crusaders,” April 19, 1993, p.40.
4 Rolling Stone, “Surviving the Crusades, October 14, 1993, p.60.
5 Testimony of Reverend Keith Tucci, director of Operation Rescue National regarding Senate bill 1714, March 22, 1993.
6 Randy Alcorn, Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments (Multinomah Books, P.O. Box 1720, Sisters OR 97759) p.32.
7 Shaw, “Abortion Foes.”

This article originally appeared on Forerunner.com.  Published with permission.

By Margaret Farrar

MELBOURNE, Florida (FR) – Despite the predictions of the liberal media, Cities of Refuge – ten days of pro-life activities in seven strategic cities across America by Operation Rescue National – was a huge success. National media gave Cities of Refuge either negative or no coverage, possibly because they were disappointed by the low number of arrests. However, Cities of Refuge ranked among one of the largest and most effective pro-life events in American history.

On the average, 1856 people participated daily, with three out of four people participating for the first time. In a ten day period, 40 children were saved. From around the country the reported number of people affected by this event continues to grow.

• JACKSON, Mississippi – Hundreds of people interceded on behalf of women contemplating killing their children. Three successful, effective rescues occurred.

• CENTRAL FLORIDA – A travel camper was transformed into a mobile crisis pregnancy center and parked outside the Aware Woman mill in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Forty women were counselled during Cities of Refuge. Seven women were tested positive for pregnancy and all seven chose life for their children.

• SAN JOSE, California – Christians read the entire Bible in front of City Hall. The New Testament was read in front of Planned Parenthood’s facility. A pro-abort was moved to tears at one of the rallies while listening to pastor Johnny Hunter.

• PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania – Operation Rescue National leader, Keith Tucci was arrested in Philadelphia while he was in town scheduled to speak to area pro-lifers. Keith was held on a $200,000 bond before being released on his own recognizance.

• CLEVELAND, Ohio – Almost 300 pro-lifers were involved in street activities each day. Thirteen children were saved with no arrests. A large number of new activists were involved including many Cleveland area pastors who had previously been wary of Operation Rescue events. This was partially due to the fact that no arrests were scheduled to take place.

• DALLAS/FORT WORTH, Texas – Remains of murdered children were given a proper burial. Several successful rescues took place. One abortionist promised to quit. Three abortionists left town during the event. Two third-trimester children were saved through the efforts of sidewalk counselors.

This article originally appeared on Forerunner.com.  Published with permission.

Director of Operation Rescue National

Operation Rescue is now holding a two-month training seminar for what it calls “cities of refuge,” an event for the summer of 1993. OR will be training rescuers not just to block abortion clinics, but to also influence every facet of society in ridding our nation of legalized child killing.

When Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973, most of the evangelical church in America was too culturally irrelevant to be motivated to political action in fighting legalized abortion. In the 1980s, the pro-life movement was galvanized by the election of two pro-life presidents. Political activism increased bringing new awareness to the public over the abortion issue. Operation Rescue then burst onto the scene gaining national attention and bringing the abortion debate to the center stage. The furor and controversy sparked by the nonviolent prayer rescues and the blocking of abortion clinic entry ways made abortion the nation’s number one social issue in the 1988 election. In the summers of 1991 and 1992, Operation Rescue staged national rescues in cities such as Wichita and Binghamton, New York. The national media coverage, although negative, ensured that the Rescue movement was not going to quietly die down.

On the 20th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, President Bill Clinton signed five executive orders making the killing of babies easier than ever before and giving freedom for medical experimentation on living pre-born babies. This action has daunted all but a few in the pro-life movement.

In January, The Forerunner spoke with Keith Tucci, national director of Operation Rescue, asking some questions concerning the Rescue Movement’s strategy for the 1990s:

FR: What is the ideology behind “cities of refuge” – the staging of national rescues in strategic cities such as what happened in Wichita?

Keith Tucci: “Cities of refuge” is a concept taken from Deuteronomy chapter 19. The Lord commanded Israel to build six cities to which an innocent man could run “lest innocent blood be shed.” Obviously, the connotation is with someone who killed someone else by accident, but the principle there is that God is so concerned about the shedding of innocent blood that He wanted Israel to actually erect six cities of refuge. We believe that the Church is a city – a light set on a hill – and we should be creating cities of refuge where mothers can have a place to run [rather than seek an abortion]. In the past, we’ve done one national event in the summer. We felt that we could duplicate those efforts at a great reduction of cost: for instance, five cities for what it would cost us to do two. We’re not talking about taking a national event and dividing it, but multiplying that one national event. We are going to be in cities that are strategically and geographically located so that people in almost every sector of the country, or within a day’s drive, can be there and participate.

FR: So instead of having one Wichita, there will be six?

Keith Tucci: Exactly.

FR: Is Operation Rescue taking a different turn now, in training people not only to do rescues, but to influence every aspect of society?

Keith Tucci: It’s not different from anything we’ve done before. We’ve just never taken the time to do the training. Our whole involvement has been to impact the culture. Our thinking has always been that abortion is just a symptom of a much greater problem. We’ve got to change the cultural power bases of our nation. That comes through Christian influence – but how do we get Christian influence? We’ve never done the systematic teaching on this and had a group of people lectured and demonstrated to by a group of people who have actually done it. This school concept is something we’ve had for years but it never got off the ground. This past year we felt that we had to get it done.

FR: What are you calling the school?

Keith Tucci: The IMPACT school: Institute of Mobilized Prophetic Activated Christian Training.

FR: What are some of the things you’ll be teaching?

Keith Tucci: There’s an emphasis on character and personal holiness – that being the foundation of everything we do. We can’t recreate or reproduce anything that we are not. We’re teaching personal, tactical and spiritual issues. As far as subject matter, we are teaching everything from “spiritual warfare” to “How to use the media before they use you.” We’re having doctors who used to perform abortions come in to teach about abortion and what really happens. We are teaching debating techniques; organizational techniques; how to build community alliances; how to network with people. We have several classes on the legal aspect of rescues as well.

FR: Since the rescues started in the mid-1980s, even the secular media has admitted that this is the main event that made abortion into an issue again. However, there has been a negative reaction by some in the Christian media lately who were previously favorable. How would you respond to Christians who are no longer favorable?

Keith Tucci: The church has realized that we are not just an event. We are talking about a lifestyle. We are no longer accomplices to the shedding of innocent blood in the many concentration camps going on in our country. Unfortunately, the church in our culture has an “event” mentality: “Let’s come to a meeting; let’s do one thing and then let’s do something else.” Rather than: “Let’s have victory; let’s have dominion, so that the next generation can take the gospel to the further ends of the world.” What’s happening now is that they are standing back and counting the cost. It’s easier to attack the people who are saying: “This is how much it costs,” than it is to try to dig the gold.

FR: What would you say to people who would call you arrogant, dangerous or counter-productive?

Keith Tucci: They just haven’t taken the time to know the rescue movement. I’m sure there are people who make very grave and serious mistakes. Obviously, we can’t be responsible for every person in the rescue movement any more than a denomination can take responsibility for every pastor who has ever fallen into sin or has ever done anything stupid or arrogant. If they say we are arrogant, I would say wholeheartedly that they haven’t taken the time to get to know the true servant-leaders of the movement, or they haven’t been involved themselves in the rescue movement. If they say we’re counter-productive, I would say that they are listening to the wrong sources. They need to look at the grass-roots. Since Operation Rescue started, over 500 abortuaries in this country have shut down; there are less practicing abortionists than there have been in a decade; there are less medical colleges that teach abortion. We are getting hammered in the political arena, but that is not a problem with Operation Rescue. That just shows the fallacy of the failed political strategies of pro-life and conservative groups. It has very little to do with us. I think that we’ve helped to hold it together a little bit longer. So I think these people are looking at the wrong symptoms. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the politicians let abortion be legal, but there wasn’t a community in the country who would let an abortionist practice?

FR: So what you’re looking at is making it impossible for an abortuary to function in this country?

Keith Tucci: We’ve got to make it intolerable and only then will we make it illegal. In the history of cultural change in this nation, it was usually the grass-roots and the church who dictated change. Abolition of slavery is the most obvious example. When they dictated change by their actions and by their willingness to spend themselves, then and only then did it become illegal. I’m a firm believer that things don’t happen from the top down; they happen because the church will make a decision or won’t make a decision. We made a very key foundational error 20 years ago in the pro-life movement: we began to try to convince the world – and either falsely assumed the church was in agreement or even made an even bigger assumption in that we didn’t have to convince the church – but it was a key tactical error that has caused the church a lot of grief.

FR: Convince them that abortion is wrong?

Keith Tucci: That abortion is MURDER and that it is not optional to be in resistance to it.

FR: I was with Daroline Firlet and Bill Cotter in Massachusetts four years ago in the rescues in Brookline. I saw the humility in them and the willingness to stand up for the truth even more than their own families and their own lives. That had a great affect on me. Daroline is a fireball, definitely, but both of them are very humble people. I know that they are now serving the most severe prison sentences of anyone in the rescue movement. So I’ve been offended at some of the Christians who have ignorantly made these defamatory comments about the leaders of the rescue movement.

Keith Tucci: That’s my feeling too. I’m not saying that there are not people out there like that. But they do not represent the rescue movement. They certainly don’t represent the leadership. If I were going to judge a certain ministry, for instance, and cite all the inconsistencies and then hold the leader accountable, he would say: “How can you hold me responsible for that?” Even though I try to do a good job, I would say the same thing. If people hold us up to standards that they are not willing to be judged by, then they are making a very big mistake.

FR: It seems as though there has been a shift in the ideology of the leaders in the rescue movement. Someone told me that the leaders are moving towards a postmillennial worldview and the ideals of “taking dominion.” Would you agree with this statement?

Keith Tucci: No, I wouldn’t agree with it. I don’t think there has been any shift at all. I think there has been an outworking of some things that were always foundational. Certainly, there are a lot of people in our group who don’t have a postmillennial worldview – me being one of them. I think that someone standing on the outside looking at us might think that. But a lot of what is happening is an outworking of what was laid down in the beginning. We have sown some seed and that seed is producing a holy harvest right now. And that seed has not come without great expense.

FR: There are people in the church who have a fatalistic view of the way things are and they might believe that abortion is just going to be with us until the end. How does Operation Rescue view the long term effects of what you are doing? What are you hoping to see?

Keith Tucci: We’re looking to see the church have spiritual integrity. That’s our whole focus. Our number one obligation is to please God and to be a reflection of Him. The church, when it doesn’t reflect Christ, brings destruction to society. We are the ones with whom God has charged to reflect Him, not civil government. If we reflect Him properly, then we can cause civil government to mirror some of those same attributes and ideas. But when we don’t reflect Him properly, then how do we expect them to reflect Him properly?

FR: So it’s more of an issue of reflecting God’s character than an issue of some doctrine or eschatology?

Keith Tucci: I think so. Although I have been amazed at how some people’s eschatology holds them captive. I’ve heard postmillennial people say that before and I definitely think that they have an argument. I think that eschatology can be an escape. People look at abortion as an issue; they don’t look at it the way God sees it. But I think that’s the challenge.

FR: I agree. It doesn’t really matter what’s going to happen; only that God’s character be reflected in the church.

Keith Tucci: That’s the mission of the church. We’re the Body of Christ, so we’re to reflect what the Head is. My heart cries for spiritual integrity. When I see people who represent Christ falling into sin and compromising, I think: “Well, we all do dumb things.” But when I see obvious and complete character failure, moral violations and Christians suing one another, I cry for the Church and for the Lord. I know how I feel when I’m misrepresented in the press and I know how the Lord must feel when His church misrepresents Him day in and day out. He must scream for people to come forward and reflect who He is. That’s what we’re trying to do. Anybody who has been involved in this movement knows that. We’ve sifted out all the activists. We are down to people in our leadership ranks whose passion is for Christ.

FR: When you say “sifted out all the activists,” do you mean people who just want to be involved in something?

Keith Tucci: People who just wanted to have some Christian fun, kind of like the Christian Olympics or the Christian Sports Channel, you know? They said, “Hey this looks like fun! This looks like a good thing to do.” Yet they believed that they could do this without any cost or any consequence. So when the cost and consequence came, they ran for the hills. Unfortunately, they are victims of the kind of Christianity under which they have been discipled, which has God as the “golden butler” who caters to our every whim and we never have any problems. That’s foolishness.

FR: What else can say about the IMPACT school that you are now conducting?

Keith Tucci: Our theme is Acts 1:2: “Everything Jesus began to do and teach.” We believe that this is the model for discipleship. It’s not just lecture, but it’s demonstration. It’s not just demonstration in character, but in tactic as well. Jesus had His disciples with Him not just to watch Him, but to demonstrate every aspect of His ministry. This included His healing ministry, His evangelistic ministry, His home visiting ministry, His publicity ministry. His disciples participated in every aspect of His life. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to expose these people who are hungry to learn to people across the country who are positive role models. It’s worth paying attention to their lives, not only their words.

This article originally appeared on Forerunner.com.  Published with permission.

In the national news media’s coverage of the Operation Rescue activities in Wichita, Kansas, I noticed a curious omission. I do not see any mention as to why pro-lifers are peacefully blocking access to Dr. George Tiller’s abortion center. That particular doctor brags about his “expertise” in doing third trimester abortions. He has publicly stated that he does them up to 8 1/2 months of pregnancy for any reason. If the Operation Rescue people can keep these pregnant mothers out of the hands of George Tiller for a few more days, these women may actually go into labor and deliver their full term, healthy babies.

Dr. Tiller states himself that he does 600 of these third trimester abortions per year. That amounts to 10 per week. These babies are in their 7th, 8th and 9th months of development. Were these children to be born, at the time of their otherwise scheduled abortion, they would stand an excellent chance of survival outside the womb. Dealing with the bodies of all these aborted children can be quite a problem. That is why Dr. Tiller has installed an incinerator into his abortion center – to burn the bodies of these babies.

Most of the mainstream media have consistently down-played or totally ignored the fact that these third trimester abortions are going on in Wichita This is the kind of carnage which Roe vs. Wade has wrought. Is it something that the public should be kept in the dark about? Perhaps reporting the full Wichita story would undercut what little support there is for legalized abortion.

The Federal Judge in this case says that the local police have not “dealt adequately” with Operation Rescue. I can imagine the reluctance any policeman of good will would have in leading an 8 month pregnant woman into a place where a near-full-term baby will be snuffed out. The next time you see a newborn baby, imagine if it were his or her lifeless body about to be tossed coldly into George Tiller’s incinerator. Roe vs. Wade was a far cry from a sane, reasoned and human decision. It ought to be overturned.

Liz Brough
Bethel Park, Pennsylvania

This article originally appeared on Forerunner.com.  Published with permission.

By John S. Collins

Editor’s Note: John Collins of Tampa, Florida, a freelance photographer, went to Wichita to cover the Operation Rescue story. Believing that the national media had little to say that wasn’t skewed toward the pro-abortion side; and little to say that didn’t include a distortion of the facts, Collins investigated the Operation Rescue activities in Wichita. In addition to taking many revealing photos, he has compiled a story which accurately describes what took place on the pro-life side. Since so much of what is supposedly “objective reporting” by trained journalists pales when politicized issues come to the forefront, we wanted to include the “other side of the story.” By no means are we claiming to be non-partisan on the issue of abortion issue, but merely factual – an element that has been missing from the reporting from Wichita.

The recent events in Wichita, Kansas have put it on the front page of virtually every major publication in the country. Operation Rescue has been blocking the doors to three abortion clinics. A federal judge has stepped in, possibly beyond his jurisdiction, to attempt to stop the protests. He has levied unprecedented fines against the organization, ordered the leaders arrested, and sentenced those arrested beyond any reasonable length of time.

On August 25, Operation Rescue vowed to pull out, if their leaders were released. The “final” weekend proved to be filled with major events and more controversy than any other.

In the midst of heavy police harassment, thousands of rural Kansas residents poured into Wichita Saturday morning to parade around the city in their tractors, trucks and cars.

The parade allowed the rural residents to show their views on the abortion issue and it gave them an opportunity to thank the organizations, including Operation Rescue, who have been in the city for the past month. “We just wanted to show our support for them,” said Donna Terry of Harper, a small city about 40 miles southwest of Wichita.

The parade route covered about 20 miles and was full of pro-life vehicles the majority of the way. Trucks, with signs saying “Farmers for Life,” “The heartland is pro-life” and “Stop Killing Babies,” were cheered on as they drove through town. There were only about ten groups of vocal people who were pro-abortion, over the 20 mile route.

A large group gathered downtown at the corner of Waco and Douglas, where a Pro-choice/NOW rally was breaking up. Hundreds of pro-choicers were there shouting: “Go back to the farm!” But these farmers were not going anywhere until their message got through.

One tractor had an incinerator on it and a wheelbarrow full of dolls, with a sign that said “Hitler 6; America 27,” referring to the millions of dead babies aborted each year in America.

The parade route continued down Kellog Street where the office of George Tiller is located. This clinic became the center of controversy because it does abortions in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. One truck, with three children in the back, had a sign that said: “Here’s three you didn’t get, Tiller.”

Hundreds of pro-lifers, about 25 pro-choicers and 50 police officers were gathered on the sidewalks in front of the office. The pro-lifers waved support and yelled, “Thanks for coming!” to the passing parade. The crowd was made up of people of all ages, including some senior citizens. One man played hymns on his trumpet, right outside the clinic door.

While much of the controversy in Wichita has been over the belief that most of the members of the blockade were from out of state. About 95% of the vehicles had Kansas tags.

One of the participants in the parade was Doyle Terry, a former police officer in Wichita for 25 years. Terry said that the actions of the police department in Wichita embarrassed him so much, he was “reluctant to admit that I am a former officer.” He also said: “If an officer under me had kicked the protesters, like I saw on TV last night, they wouldn’t have been on my force anymore.”

In another van, Loretta Ellerbee, a seasoned rescuer from San Antonio, Texas, talked about the pro-choice children she saw in front of Dr. Tiller’s office. “It breaks my heart to see their parents brainwashing them, saying that killing is alright.”

While Maureen Moore, a pro-choicer from Wichita, admitted the group was outnumbered at the clinic, she added that “there was a big rally downtown with about 400 people.”

The rally she was referring to was attended by 3000 people, even though nationally known pro-choice advocates such as Eleanor Smeal were brought in from around the country. Since the abortion clinics closed that Saturday, the pro-life supporters were not attending a rescue. A large portion of that crowd was curious pro-life supporters.

Later that evening, a pro-life rally and concert downtown was attended by 10,000 pro-life supporters. Hosted by musician, Rich Mullen, who lives in Wichita, the concert drew very little media attention. One local news broadcast even estimated the crowd at 2500. Mike Stand, of the Altar Boys, flew in from California to let the crowd know that the rescuers from California supported their efforts. Also performing were Cause and Effect, a rap group from Chicago, and several local singers and speakers.

During the concert, on the other side of a small hill, there was a temporary grave yard. The headstones were dedicated to women who have died during abortions, since it has been legal. The headstones had newspaper clippings attached with stories about the clinics and women.

As the celebration from the stage continued, the crowd was reminded that there that there were those still in jail because of their attempts to save babies. A prayer vigil at the jail was announced immediately following the concert.

Outside the jail, police officers were leaving the work, while Christians of many different backgrounds joined together to pray. This crowd dispersed only to be replaced by another crowd which came to continue the vigil through the night.

As the prayer vigil continued outside the jail, back at the Wichita Plaza Hotel, the command center for Operation Rescue worked quickly to get information out. A sign on the door read: “Meet at the deck at 6:30 AM – Emergency! BABIES LIVES are at stake.”

As the sun came up the next morning, car loads of rescuers quietly left the hotel. Their destination: The Wichita Family Planning Center. Typically closed on Sundays, the clinic would open to make up for money lost by being closed by Operation Rescue on Saturday. The rescue had no resistance at first, because no one expected it. The doors to the clinic were blocked off by 7 AM. The sidewalks were crowded with around 300 protesters carrying signs. When the abortionist and his entourage of workers arrived at 8:30 AM they had to wait for the police to clear the doorways.

On the sidewalks, crowds prayed and sang songs of hope. The crowd was made up of several groups, including Operation Rescue, Hope for the Heartland, and Sidewalk Counselors. The crowd at the door locked arms and prayed. A Wichita Police officer maced the peaceful protesters. The same officer, while attempting to pull the crowd apart began punching an elderly man. After realizing he was being videotaped, the officer stopped and backed away.

Dr. Christopher Deatherage, a member of the Reformed Christian Church, a sect similar to the Amish, brought his family from Chamois, Missouri. It seemed odd to observers to see a man dressed in Amish style clothes to be at the rescue. He explained: “We obey the law in every way possible. We do not speed. We do not steal. But when man’s law comes above God’s law, you have to do something. We attempt to do it as reverently and lovingly as possible. But the killing must be stopped.”

Around 9 AM, a black female, her mother, and a friend wrapped towels around their heads and ran past the protesters into the clinic. The protesters offered her whatever she needed if she would change her mind and not have an abortion. Twenty minutes later, she came out and said she could not go through with it. This would be the 30th baby saved since Operation Rescue came to Wichita.

Later, a teenage girl who was being forced by her mother to have an abortion came to the clinic. She got to the rescuers and was taken to a safe house to continue her pregnancy. Life number 31 was saved. This brave girl was the one who tipped off the Operation Rescue that the clinic would be open on Sunday.

The herds of media quickly left the clinic to rush to Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University. One of the largest pro-life rallies in history was taking place. A crowd of 15,000 was expected. As Mary Wilkinson, spokesperson for Hope for the Heartland began the rally, cars were still backed up for miles, trying to park.

Wilkinson started the afternoon, by thanking Operation Rescue for coming to Wichita. This set off a standing ovation that lasted three minutes. It was clear that, contrary to the plane flying overhead pulling a banner that proclaimed that Wichita is pro-choice, this city is very opposed to abortion.

By the time Pat Robertson spoke, about 30,000 people had crowded into the stadium, sitting in the stands and in the the grassy end zones areas. Robertson drew several standing ovations during his speech. The most rousing came when he called for people to back Representative Robert Dornan’s move to impeach Judge Kelly. Other speakers included: Beverly LaHaye, president of Concerned Women for America; Dr. Paul Davis, director of the 130 doctor coalition, Physicians for Life; Don Wildmon, president of the American Family Association; and a host of local ministers from several denominations.

As the rally came to a close, it was clear that the people of Wichita will work together to make Wichita the first major abortion-free-city in America. Father Jim Connely said, “At first I didn’t think it was possible, but now I believe we can do it. It won’t be easy. It’s a long road. But we don’t want abortion to be what Wichita is known for anymore.”

This article originally appeared on Forerunner.com.  Published with permission.