(ZENIT News / Tennessee, 08.07.2024).- On July 3, Tennessee’s Middle District Court in Nashville ruled against three pro-life defenders, found guilty of violating the Freedom of Access Law to Clinics’ Entrances (FACE), and of conspiring to infringe civil rights. This verdict was reached after the events of March 5, 2021, when a pro-life group protested in the Carafem Health Center of Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
The pro-life defenders were accused of blocking access to the Carafem Health Center, a medical building where abortions were carried out. For over two hours the group’s members occupied the entrance hall, some placing themselves near the door and others recording videos for the social networks, according to the accusers. They read the Bible and sang religious hymns, hindering the Clinic’s normal functioning, stated the Clinic where babies are killed. The act was judged under the FACE Law, which prohibits interference with access to reproductive health services.
Dennis Green, Director of Life and Liberty Ministries and resident in Virginia, received a six-month house arrest sentence and three years of probation. Coleman Boyd, emergency doctor who lost his job due to this verdict, was sentenced to six months of house arrest, five years of probation and a US$110,000 fine. Calvin Zastrow, a Michigan preacher, will face six months of prison, followed by six months of house arrest and three years of probation.
The Department of Justice had requested more severe sentences for the accused, arguing that Green and Boyd should serve 15 months in prison, whereas Zastrow, regarded as the group’s leader, was to face 27 months in prison. The sentences were less strict than expected, although the Court took into account Zastrow’s re-offending in violations of the FACE Law in other States.
This case has sparked a wide ranger of reactions. More than 125 letters of support of the accused were sent to the Court, requesting clemency. Among the senders were friends, family members and unknown sympathizers, many of whom shared personal experiences about the impact of abortions on their lives and their desire to count on support in critical moments.
Paul Vaughn, another participant in the incident, was sentenced on July 2 to three years of probation, including six months of house arrest. Heather Idoni and Chester Gallagher, also involved, will be sentenced later, as they already face additional charges in Michigan for similar violations of the FACE Law.
The verdict highlighted once again the tension between the laws that protect access to reproductive health services and the actions of pro-life movements, which seek to influence abortion policies through peaceful protests. The FACE Law, implemented to guarantee free access to Clinics, has been a point of recurrent conflict between defenders of the killing of babies and pro-life groups.
Fortunately, the Carafem Clinic in Mount Juliet closed after the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs case, which returned the regulation of abortion to the States.
