Abortion protesters forced to follow sign rules

July 29, 2006

Below is an article that ran in "The Fayetteville Observer" on Thursday, July 28, 2006 during LLM's Tour stops in Fayetteville N.C.

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About 25 abortion protesters demonstrated Thursday morning outside the Carolina Women’s Medical Clinic on Gillespie Street.

The protesters were affiliated with Life and Liberty Ministries, an anti-abortion organization based in Powhatan, Va. They are visiting areas across North Carolina as part of the organization’s Face the Truth tour.

Officers from the Fayetteville Police Department forced the protesters to use signs that complied with a city ordinance regarding their size. The ordinance requires all signs to be 2 feet by 2 feet or smaller. The protesters originally had signs that were 3 feet by 5 feet. They used the larger signs for about an hour before switching to smaller signs that complied with the ordinance.

“A car driving by is not going to see our message with the small signs,” said Dennis Green, director of Life and Liberty Ministries. “These displays are designed for mass exposure, and we’ve been stripped of the ability to present our message.”

The signs showed large pictures of aborted fetuses and had messages such as “Abortion Kills Children.” Green said the graphic nature of the pictures conveys their message the best.

“People say that the signs are graphic, but abortion is graphic,” Green said. “Gassing millions of Jews is graphic, and seeing pictures of thousands of them stacked like cordwood made people see the horrors they went through. We need to see the reality. It’s graphic, yes, but killing children is graphic. If it’s too graphic to look at, then why do we still do it?”

Johnny Hunter, worship leader at Cliffdale Community Church in Fayetteville, was among the protesters. He said that being forced to change signs violated his rights.

“We feel that this is a violation of our First Amendment rights,” Hunter said. “Any time the city can tell you the size of what you can show, and make it so small that your message cannot be seen, that’s an infringement. The city should know that we’re not just going to lay down and take it.”

Hunter and Green said the organization plans to take legal action against the city.

Jamie Smith, spokeswoman for the Police Department, said the only issue was with the size of the signs.

Many drivers passing the clinic slowed to read the signs. Some honked their horns and a few stopped to shake hands with the protestors.

The drivers were more responsive than usual, said protestor Nancy Major. Major, who is from Phoenixville, Pa., has been an anti-abortion activist for 18 years. She said she has enjoyed her time with the organization because it gives her a chance to interact with people like her.

As employees entered the clinic, Major yelled at them using a childlike voice.

“Don’t kill me, mommy; my little heart is beating!” she shouted.

Officials at the clinic declined to comment on the protest.

Dan and Theresa Frazier watched the protest from outside their home, which is across the street from the clinic. They have lived there since 1993.

“Standing out here is not going to accomplish anything except causing distractions,” said Theresa Frazier. “All they want is attention. They want the police to come out, and they want the media to come out. If everybody just left them alone to stand out there in the sun, they’ll eventually just get tired and leave.”

According to Hunter, there are several church groups that offer help to pregnant women, but officials are working to form an anti-abortion organization in Fayetteville. They plan to remain affiliated with Life and Liberty Ministries.

“We look to build support through networking with other organizations,” Hunter said. “Here in Fayetteville, whatever an expecting mother needs, we will be able to provide it for her.”

By Jarel Loveless
Staff writer

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