“[It was] a peaceful demonstration by entirely peaceable citizens—filled with prayer, hymn-singing, and worship—oriented toward persuading expectant mothers not to abort their babies.”
Of the three Tennessee pro-life activists convicted for protesting in front of an abortion clinic, two are going to jail and the third received probation. A court found the trio guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for protesting in 2021 outside of a Tennessee abortion clinic, according to Christian media outlet World.
The three activists faced charges of “conspiracy against rights,” along with with violating the FACE Act, which “prohibits threats of force, obstruction and property damages intended to interfere with reproductive health care services” according to the US Department of Justice.
On Friday, US District Judge Aleta Trauger sentenced pro-life activist Chester Gallagher to 16 months in prison and fellow pro-lifer Heather Idoni to eight months in prison. Idona is already incarcerated for protesting at a 2020 pro-life event in Washington, DC and will served her eight month term concurrently.
The only member of the group who was saved from hard time was 89-year-old Eva Edl, who got three years probation from US Magistrate Judge Jeffery S. Frensley on Thursday, World reported. However, she could get 11 years in prison after being convicted on another FACE charge in Michigan.
Steve Crampton, a Thomas More Society attorney who has represented pro-life activists, described the 2021 abortion protest as “a peaceful demonstration by entirely peaceable citizens—filled with prayer, hymn-singing, and worship—oriented toward persuading expectant mothers not to abort their babies.” Gallager, Idoni and Edl were all previously convicted on another FACE charge for protesting in Michigan, CatholicVote reported.
Edl told CatholicVote in an exclusive interview that she became a pro-life protester in 1988 when she first saw a group of activists outside a Georgia abortion clinic. She said she had previously been unaware of how powerful and extensive the abortion network was in America.
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