Posted on 03/25/2015 10:54:42 AM PDT by xzins
U.S. Capitol police on Wednesday arrested seven pro-life protestors while they were praying outside the office of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).
Those arrested, who included prominent pro-life activist and nurse Jill Stanek, were protesting the House Republican leaderships' failure to call a vote on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would prohibit aborting an unborn child in or after the 20th week of gestation.
The House Republican leadership shelved the bill less than 24 hours before it was set to come up for a vote on Jan. 22 after some Republican congresswomen, led by Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) and Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), objected to the the rape and incest exception in the bill, which said a baby 20 weeks old or older could only be terminated if the the baby had been conceived by an act of rape or incest that had been reported to the appropriate alw enforcement agency.
In 2012, Ellmers had co-sponsored the District of Columbia Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which banned abortions in the 20th week or later in Washington, D.C., and had no rape or incest exceptions whatever. On July 31 of that year, the bill was brought up on the House floor under a suspension of the rules, which required a two-thirds vote instead of a majority. The bill failed to get two-thirds but did get a majority, with 220 voting yes, 154 voting no, 55 not voting and 2 voting present. Six Democrats voted for that bill with no rape and incest exceptions.
Ellmers also voted in 2013 for a national version of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. That bill included the same type of rape and incest exception that was in the bill the House leadership pulled from a vote in January.
Stanek, a nurse who formerly worked at Christ Hospital in Chicago, became involved in the pro-life movement 16 years ago after she held a live baby who had survived an abortion and was left to die afterwards.
“I’ve been in this movement for 16 years, from the moment I held this little aborted baby, and I’ve never felt convicted to be arrested,” Stanek explained during the protest on Wednesday.
“I’ve always felt my voice was well-heard, speaking and writing," she said. "But when this bill failed to be brought forward on Jan. 22, I was just so frustrated and disgusted with our Republican House leadership, that they would abandon these babies over political maneuvering.”
“I decided right then and there that I was willing to be arrested on behalf of this little baby that I held, and others like him,” she said.
Stanek was joined Wednesday outside Boehner's office in the Longworth building by several other pro-life leaders, who said they knew they might be arrested for praying but were willing to take that risk to “be a voice for the voiceless.”
“We were told yesterday by Speaker Boehner’s office that this is the most pro-life Congress that has ever been installed,” challenged Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, a Christian pro-life organization.
“And yet a ban on late-term abortions, which the vast majority of Americans believe should be passed immediately, this bill has languished in the House, in the so-called most pro-life House in the last 70 years, it has languished for three months,” he said.
“We’re here to sacrifice just a little bit of freedom to stand in solidarity with these children, and to help Speaker Boehner grow a spine,” Newman said.
After a brief introduction, protestors knelt in the hallway in front of Boehner’s office and began praying the Lord’s Prayer, followed by individual pleas to God to end abortion.
Within minutes, more than a dozen Capitol Hill police arrived and told protestors that they were “engaging in unlawful activity” and would be arrested if they failed to stop praying and move. After refusing, the protestors were handcuffed and forcibly removed from the area.
In addition to Stanek, police also arrested Newman, Rev. Pat Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, and four other women.
from the article:
““We were told yesterday by Speaker Boehner’s office that this is the most pro-life Congress that has ever been installed,” challenged Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, a Christian pro-life organization.
“And yet a ban on late-term abortions, which the vast majority of Americans believe should be passed immediately, this bill has languished in the House, in the so-called most pro-life House in the last 70 years, it has languished for three months,” he said.
“We’re here to sacrifice just a little bit of freedom to stand in solidarity with these children, and to help Speaker Boehner grow a spine,” Newman said.”
Boy, I'm sure glad we elected those Republicans to fix things, huh?
Lesson to learn - Never believe a RINO when he exhales.
And Code Pink gets a pass?
Bahahaha
FReeper by chance? hmm.....
Same thing I thought.
My first thought as well. The Capitol police could have just escorted them away, but let's arrest them pro-lifers!
FUJB.
Sadly, the Republican House "leadership" isn't "ours". It belongs only to crony capitalists, frauds, phonies and baby killers.
Jill Stanek is a brave woman, and so are all the others who prayed with her.
Capitol Police are very nasty...like the STASI.
Back during the Roy Moore 10 Commandments issue, I went to D.C. with a group of his and was threatened with arrest for simply putting my hand on the corner of the step leading up to the Supreme Court. I was told by the Capitol police that during a rally of this kind the Supreme Court and the plaza around it including the steps was a “prayer free” zone. I might add I was not praying out loud, but praying silently. My crime was touching the step. I didn’t protest although a couple of other ladies doing the same thing did.
I see Rev. Pat Mahoney in the pic at the article. We ate meals with him and Rev. Rob Schenck a few times. They are great warriors for the faith. Mahoney got arrested during that trip also at the Red Mass for the Supreme Court simply because he argued with the police because they moved the area we could stand from what the permit said was the area we could be.
It was a wonderful trip and boosted my Christian faith and also opened my eyes to the ways of the government and the media.
In the time of everyone having a video camera on their phone, we don’t have a video of this?
I had a similar experience at the Supreme Court.
In April, 2009, members of our church hired a bus and took a trip to DC where we prayed at the Capitol, the White House, the Supreme Court.The purpose was to pray for our leaders, our nation and for God’s protection(this was in the beginning of the Obama regime).
We started to join hands a the Supreme Court on the plaza level, and the guard raced down the steps to yell at us that we could not pray there.
Now let that sink it.We could not pray in a public place at a government building.
I protested to the guard that this was a public area and that prayer was not illegal. He told me it was not allowed and to move the group to the sidewalk.
We did,under the threat of arrest,move to the sidewalk and prayed right there, in full view of the same guard and all the tourists.
In fact, wherever we went, other tourists asked if they could join in prayer with us.
Boner has a spine...he uses it to screw over the base of his own party.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.