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Jury Convicts Pro-Lifers Of Trespassing At Michigan Abortion Clinic

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Grace Carr Reporter
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Four pro-lifers were convicted of trespassing at a Michigan abortion clinic Friday in an attempt to advocate for life and charged with time in jail and a lengthy probation sentence.

Following a six-man jury vote on Thursday, the four protesters (professor and Citizens for a Pro-life Society director Monica Miller along with pro-lifers Will Goodman, Matthew Connolly and Abby McIntyre) were convicted of trespassing at the Sterling Heights abortion clinic to advocate for the unborn babies soon to be aborted.

“I was ready to go to jail for 10 days,” Miller said, explaining that she and her cohorts plan to continue their mission of saving lives, which they call “red-rose rescues” according to the News Herald.

Their lawyer, Robert Muise, argued in court that the pro-lifers were justified in trespassing at the abortion clinic because they were trying to save lives. Michigan law permits trespassing if it is done in an effort to stop “great evil” from occurring, according to Muise. “You’re justified in trespassing if you stop a murder,” Muise said in court.

Northland director of advocacy and development Lara Chelian posited the trespassers should be held accountable — no matter their reasoning. “We are very grateful for the jury decision today,” she said. “It confirms that these acts are not lawful. This case was not about abortion but about trespassing onto private property. Abortion is legal …,” she added.

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The case was well-mannered on all sides, and both defendants and prosecutors shook hands after the trial concluded. “It was very civil. That kind of civility is nice in this day and age,” Muise said.

The protesters did announce their plan to appeal the conviction and the sentence.

Another pro-life woman was arrested and jailed for setting foot on the premises of an Ontario abortion clinic in December. Forty-three-year-old, Canadian pro-lifer Mary Wagner went to a women’s care clinic in Ontario, was arrested in Dec. 2016 for vocalizing the pro-life message, and has been to court multiple times since then.

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Tags : michigan
Grace Carr