Praying and Pickting Near the Mississippi Abortion Mill - Day 2

A few weeks ago, I went to Jackson, Mississippi to pray near the last abortion mill in that state. Below is a description of my second and final day there, December 13, 2005...


God provided another beautiful day for our peaceful prayers and picketing in Jackson, MS. The temperature was in the mid sixties.

I was only on the sidewalk for a short time (about two hours). The situation began to deteriorate rapidly during those two hours.

Prolifers were on the corner near the restaurant handing out literature. Employees from the restaurant asked them to leave the public street corner. The restaurant staff did not think their customers would appreciate the literature. The prolifers were primarily providing literature to cars going by. As to the passersby, I'm not precisely sure how they were expected to distinguish restaurant customers from everyone else. The restaurant staff acted like it would be a "compromise" if the prolifers just gave in to their whims. (All of this is based on what I was told by the prolifers. I was across the street and could not hear the dialogue.)

A local prolifer was dressed in a Santa Claus suit. Sometimes he held a flag, sometimes he held a baby doll, and other times he held a graphic abortion sign. He frequently called out "Santa loves children," or "Jackson loves children," or "Don't kill the children, Jackson." The media sent a cameraman to interview him. He pointed out that the media refuses to show the graphic truth of abortion. A few of us stood near the camera with graphic signs. I doubt they made it to the news report (if they did, they were likely blurred).

I held a graphic sign on the sidewalk facing State Street along with two prolifers from the local area. I had at least one of the "comforts" of home. In my local area, the "escorts" and abortion mill employees frequently take pictures of peaceful witnesses for life. Despite claiming to be "pro-choice" they take our pictures without giving us a CHOICE. In Jackson, the restaurant staff took our pictures. They did this from both the ground and the roof. As pictures were taken, I tried to make sure my sign was clearly visible.

Along with the graphic sign, I held a second sign which had the words "Wake up people of God." My graphic sign said "Choice" and then displayed the graphic picture. A member of the Rosary Crusade told me to cover God's Name. Ordinarily, I would not do something like this. However, it produced a nice effect: "Wake up people of Choice" followed by a graphic picture.

A man walked by and told us he supports what we are doing.

The restaurant staff were not happy that we were holding graphic signs because their customers could see the signs through the windows. This was taking place at lunch time. We need to expose the truth of abortion to those driving by. One of the local prolifers pointed out that the abortion mill was here long before the restaurant. If the restaurant owners do not want graphic photos being displayed, they should petition the city to close the abortuary.

The restaurant staff yelled sarcastic remarks across the road to us such as "Yay, you've saved exactly zero babies!" I pointed out that the day is far from over.

Apparently, we were accused of holding "pornography" because we had graphic abortion pictures. The true explanation of pornography was given to those making accusations. In my opinion, if hard and soft core pornography ceased to exist, the number of abortions would greatly decrease.

Had the restaurant owners simply ignored all of us, they might have gotten a lot of business. They were in a convenient location and all of us needed to eat. We went to other restaurants instead. We could have gone to this one....if the staff had not acted in this manner.

The police were called by the restaurant staff. An employee of the abortuary also spoke to the police about our presence. According to what other prolifers told me (I could not hear it for myself so I cannot vouch for any of this), the police stood around trying to figure out ways to get rid of the people from out of town. This is second hand, but apparently they were mumbling about possibly saying our activity was "disturbing the peace." Interesting. There were no bullhorns or people shouting. Just people praying and quietly holding signs exposing the truth of abortion. The police allegedly wanted the literature distribution to stop and one allegedly suggested a garbage can would be a good place for the remaining literature.

One police officer allegedly told a prolifer that we were trying to start a ruckus so the media would come. The prolifer said he had no interest in the media coming because they only distort the truth.

A prolifer tried to tell a police officer about what happens at Tiller's child sacrifice mill in Wichita, KS (such as the baptism of dead babies, pictures taken of dead babies, etc.). The police officer allegedly laughed and refused to believe it. The prolifer suggested he look it up on the web.

Prolifers who were on the public street corner on the restaurant side were allegedly being asked by police to follow the permit. The permit evidently did not include the ability to distribute literature on that side, despite being a public street corner.

There was one definite save today and one that was classified as a "maybe." We must pray that the "maybe" became a definite save.

The Rosary Crusade processed along the sidewalk and prayed. The police suddenly wanted people off the sidewalk on State St. Then they said something about being twenty feet from the curb. The sidewalk on the side street is short. (Since the sidestreet is mostly residential, the exposure for signs is reduced when people cannot face State Street.) There is grass along the side street before State St. The police said that the Rosary Crusade could only pray on the limited sidewalk on the side street. Richard (leader of the Rosary Crusade) asked the police to talk to them and explain what they were allegedly doing wrong.

At this point, the group of people I was with left. I don't know if the police ever got around to explaining exactly what the Rosary Crusade was allegedly doing wrong by praying or why it was okay on Monday (12/12) but not Tuesday, etc.

As an addendum, Operation Rescue West filed a report at http://www.operationrescue.org/?p=311 which gives a first-hand account of the police's attempt at intimidating them. Thankfully, ORW staff knew the police were bluffing. ORW also came across a street preacher who was being denied his right to freedom of speech and the free practice of religion (both provided in the First Amendment). The city of Jackson allegedly refused to grant the street preacher a permit to preach the Word of God because it might be "noisy" and may "bother" people. Keith Mason of ORW referred the preacher to legal counsel and a lawsuit against Jackson is being considered.

Pro-aborts often claim that there is a "Constitutional right to abortion." There is NOTHING in the Constitution providing a right to sacrifice innocent children. The First Amendment, on the other hand, actually exists. Shame on the city of Jackson for allowing innocent children to be slaughtered while persecuting those exercising their Constitutional rights to freedom of speech and free practice of religion.

Of course, it should be noted that I am not a lawyer. One must make themselves aware of the law at all the many levels of government bureaucracy (federal, state, local, etc.) for prolife activities (as well as anything else) and one must follow these laws. Remember that secular laws often change and ignorance is not an excuse for disobeying the law. It may even be advisable to consult an attorney able to practice in the specific geographic area and who is knowledgable about prolife issues. Above all, prolife activities must always, ALWAYS be peaceful and must follow the Ten Commandments provided by God.

Praying Near the Mississippi Abortion Mill on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

A few weeks ago, I attended an event coordinated by the Our Lady of Guadalupe Rosary Crusade in Jackson, Mississippi. Following is my account of the event...

The Rosary Crusaders pray the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the St. Bridget Prayers, and exorcism prayers near places of child sacrifice. This particular event began on December 12th. December 12th is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe** in the Catholic Church.

God provided a beautiful day for our peaceful picket in Jackson, Mississippi. The temperature was in the high fifties to mid sixties.

I would estimate about thirty to thirty-five people showed up, including the local pro-lifers. Operation Rescue West sent a Truth Truck (a small box truck with panels showing the graphic truth about abortion) to the area.

Fr. Peter West from Priests for Life also attended this event. He was in the area from Sunday night through Tuesday morning. On Monday morning, he gave the homily at St. Richard's Church.

The center for child slaughter in Jackson is the only abortuary in the entire state of Mississippi. If it closes through prayer and peaceful/legal protesting, the whole state of Mississippi will be free of abortion mills. The Jackson abortuary is not a part of Planned Parenthood, but rather a part of a small chain of fifteen child killing businesses. There are no "escorts." The child sacrifice business has a small sidewalk on one side near the entrance to the parking lot and a sidewalk on a main road. There is a metal fence separating the sidewalk from the mill, but pro-life people can speak to the cu$tomer$ as they enter. One of the local pro-lifers mimics a child's voice. She calls out phrases such as "Mommy, I love you. I want to see your face. Daddy, please don't kill me."

The day started with a civil rights rally. Richard, the leader of the group, connected Martin Luther King's struggle for civil rights with the struggle for rights of preborn babies. Three African Americans from the area spoke. The first was a woman who had an abortion. She spoke on the need for more African Americans to come out here and hold signs witnessing for life. She explained that she went to Confession because of her abortion. The priest gave her a Penance of volunteering for a hospital for six weeks. She volunteered at the gift shop and was accused of something she did not do and told she was no longer needed. She then decided to witness for life near the abortion mill and is continuing to do this. Another speaker gave an excellent talk that seemed so well rehearsed and polished....and this was his very first time ever witnessing for life in front of an abortion mill. When a representative from the media came a short time later, he was told to speak with this man.

The city of Jackson has approximately 250,000 people, with the majority being African American. The pro-life movement in Jackson is primarily composed of whites. From what I observed, the cu$tomer$ of this abortion chamber were 98% African American. The abortion mill is getting African Americans in Mississippi to voluntarily deplete their numbers. While they may not intend to be racist, numbers speak for themselves. The work of the Jackson, MS abortion mill would please any white supremecist group. While Margaret Sanger was against abortion (her issue was artificial contraception), at least the numbers would please her. In a letter to Clarence Gambel, Margaret Sanger made it clear that she wanted to "eliminate the Negro race."

Across the road from the abortion mill, there is a public parking area. This area is in front of a building renting spaces for businesses, including a restaurant. But the parking lot is not owned by that business. Operation Rescue West staff parked their Truth Truck in one of the spaces. Tenants and the building owner became furious. They demanded the truck be moved. They said they would call the police and have it towed away. Operation Rescue West staff indicated that this was a public lot and did not move the truck. The police were called. According to Operation Rescue West's site, the police claimed a "permit" was needed to park their truck in that location (again, a public parking area). Operation Rescue West called the police officer's bluff. In the end, the truck remained until Operation Rescue West decided to move it. The tenants continued to hang around outside and occasionally screamed at the pro-lifers. From across the street, they mocked Christianity and blasphemed our Lord. The tenants were unhappy with the pro-lifers who passed out literature being passed on a public street corner.

Reactions from State Street were primarily positive. Of course, most people ignored us. I recall all reactions from African Americans were positive. The majority of reactions from whites were negative. One woman complained to us. She told one of the pro-lifers to get a job and said the same to me. Before I could tell her there is such a thing as vacation time, she rolled up her window.

The police shifted to the other side of State Street. Richard (leader of the Rosary Crusade) was told that he did not get a permit to pray. It was apparently okay to process up and down the sidewalk, but his group could not pray in front of the abortion mill. Apparently, a permit must be obtained thirty days in advance. I believe one of the local pro-lifers informed me that laws in Jackson seem to change quite frequently. One of the local pro-lifers went to the police station and obtained a permit for the group to pray during the day time. Prior to this, he had suggested that they just hold signs. Richard indicated that they were here to pray.

On Mondays, the child slaughter center opens at noon for "counseling." Mississippi has a 24-hour waiting period. Apparently, children are not slaughtered here on Mondays. Pro-lifers attempted to provide literature and speak with cu$tomer$ of the mill. At least one cu$tomer replied with vulgar language. Most ignored us. One kept yelling so she did not have to hear what we had to say.

Operation Rescue West staff started driving their truck around town. Had the restaurant owners and other tenants not been so abrasive, ORW likely would have begun driving the truck much sooner. Of course, as soon as that parking space was vacated, another vehicle filled the space.

Two babies were saved today, thanks be to God. One young woman whose sister had an abortion came to speak with the local pro-lifers. She said she wanted to help other mothers avoid doing what her sister did.

I went to dinner at a restaurant fairly close to the abortion mill called Que Sera Sera (a different restaurant from the one directly across from the mill). After paying my bill, the waiter said to come back again soon. I explained that while the food and service were great, I was from another state so I probably wouldn't be back. I said I was there for the abortion protest. He said it was a great cause.

(**This is a title for the Blessed Virgin Mary. When she originally appeared as Our Lady of Guadalupe during the 1500s in what is now Mexico City, the Aztecs were slaughtering thousands of people to their pagan gods. The slaughtered victims included children. The Blessed Mother's appearance caused thousands of Aztecs to convert to the Catholic faith and worship the Holy Trinity, the one True God Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This conversion ended the sacrifices. In today's times, we can see how the Blessed Mother appeared because God left an image of her on St. Juan Diego's tilma (a cloak made of cactus fibers). While a tilma normally falls apart after twenty years, this particular tilma is still intact today, over 450 years after the appearance. It can be viewed by the public in Mexico City. Despite all of our scientific advances, science cannot duplicate many aspects of the image. Of course, this is because the image was not made by man; it was made by God Himself. Because her appearance in the 1500s brought about the end of human sacrifice by the Aztecs, Catholics look to this particular apparation of the Blessed Mother in the abortion struggle. Abortion is child sacrifice to the idols of "convenience" and "choice." Humans have copied the aspects that can be duplicated and made a small number of replicas known as Missionary Images. The Missionary Images were blessed by Pope John Paul II. When they have been taken past abortion mills, some abortion mills have closed within a short period of time. In Wichita, a secular newspaper noted that rose petals came out of one of the Missionary Images when it was brought near an abortion mill.)