1987 issue 1 - protest in pensacola - counsel of chalcedon
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8/12/2019 1987 Issue 1 - Protest in Pensacola - Counsel of Chalcedon
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Protest in Pensacola
Pro-Life Activists From 10 States Oppose
Abortion and Injustice in this Florida City
woman who was arrested in Pensacola
in
March, 1986, for entering "The
Ladies Center", the same clinic picketed
Thanksgiving weekend, and pulling on
a cord or hose connected with an
abortion suction machine. Circuit
Jud
ge
William Anderson eventually sentenc
ed
Joan Andrews to five years n prison.
toda
y,
probably think of persecution .
as
something that happened long ago,
or
,
if it happens today,
it
takes place far
away. The case of Joan Andrews proves
that .persecution, especially
of
Chris
tians, is happening today, right here
in
the United States.
Thanksgiving weekend the pro-lifers
first conducted a pic
ket
and pray
er
vigil
in front
of
The Ladies Center ab
or
tion
clinic.
It
rained the entire weekend.
s
a result of s
ome
picketers bl
oc
king a
truck that attempted to enter the clos
ed
clinic grounds, seven people were
arrested by police. One woman was
arrested for alledgedly tape recording a
policeman's conversation without
his
knowledge, and one elderly man w
as
On
Thanksgiving weekend, Novem
ber 28-29, over 300 pro-life
~ t v s t s
from
at
least ten states gathered n
Pen
sacola, F1orida to attempt
to
close
down
that city's only remaining abortion
cllni, to protest the excessive prison
sentence and abusive treatmentof a pro
life woman arrested earlier, and to moti
vate. an apathetic Christian community
in the area
to
greater activism in piit
ting a stop
to
the continued murder of
unborn babies inPensacola,
in
the state
of Florlda and all over this land. The
Pensacola "Christian" community is
so
apathetic that
only
a handful of pro-life
activists can
be
found locally. This
inspite of the fact that two other abor
tion clinics were closed due to
ef
forts of pro-life activists n 1984. Thus,
pro-lifers froni around the country deter
mined to protest in Pensacola. They
came,
n cars and busses, from
Mis-
souri, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Texas, Washington, Tennessee, Vir
ginia, Georgia
and
California. Among
those from
.Georgia were members of
Chalcedon Presbyterian Church and
Calvary Temple of Atlanta. Among the
l ~ ~ r s present were Joe Scheidler of
Chicago and John Ryan
of
St. Louis.
Friday, November 28, the day after
Thank
sgiving, some 300 prolife activists
fr(lm ten states picket the Ladles Center,
the
only abortion clinic remaining
in Pensacola, Fl
or
ida.
By
the
time
the week-end events .
ended, 15 Christians had been arrested
and
physically abused by Pensacola
Police, but the abortion clinic was
closed
for the
week
end, Friday through
' Sunday. The Pensacola papers gave ex
.tensive coverage to the events,
at
least
ifl
terms
of
.space. Typical
of
today's
media all over, the coverage was clearly
biased against pro-life.
Probably the primary motivation that
drew people from so many states a
week-end when they all would doubtless
have preferred
to
have
~ y e d
home, was
a desire to protest the plight of Joan
Andrews, a 38 year-old Christian
The same day,
in the
same courtroom,
udge Anderson sentenced two men
convicted
of
accomplices to murder four
. years
in
prison
At
the present time
Joan Andrews is being held
in
a max
imum security facility, the Broward
Correctional Institution in Pembroke
Pines, Florida, near Ft. Lauderdale. She
is in
a cell with a lesbian prisoner who
is abusive to her, and Joan is subjected
to a body search whenever she is moved
out of her cell, including a search
of
all
her body cavities.
It
is ironic that the
Wire
services invariably indicate Joan
was convicted
of
assault, since she is a
pacifist. She not only would not assault
someone, she will no t even protect her-
. self from assault. We, in this country
The Counsel
or
Cbalcedon, January, 1987 _
arrested when he bent over to pick up;a
police radio dropped to the ground by
the policeman. The man was charged
with burglary, the police claiming th
at
he took the radio, ran with it-to a bus
and tried to hide it. Pro-lifers told The
Counsel of
Chalcedon that the man was
merely trying to pick up the radio to
give back to the policeman.
Florida's burglary law the man could
get up to years in prison Airtong
those arrested on Friday at the clinic
was Joan Andrews mother, Elizabeth,
6
8, of
Lewislmrg, Tennessee. When
people went to the Escambia County
Jail to
talk to those arrested, they were
told to leave or they would be arrested.
On Saturday, November.29, the pr,o-
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8/12/2019 1987 Issue 1 - Protest in Pensacola - Counsel of Chalcedon
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lifers gathered in Pensacola's Seville Square, where, in the
rain, thecrowd listened to a number
of
speakers. Among those
addressing the crowd were, Joe Scheidler
of
Chicago, John
Ryan
of St
Louis, Penny Lea
of
Pensacola, and John Burt,
the Pensacola pro-lifer who was arrested the same day Joan
Andrews was arrested last March and who is now on probation
and under orders to pay restitution. Burt operates Our Father's
House, a home for pregnant women, but the court has
demanded that he get another job
to
pay restitution in his case.
After the rally in Seville Square the crowd went
to
the
home of Judge William Anderson, the judge who sentenced
Joan Andrews to
5
years in prison. Here eight people were
arrested for leaving signs
n the Judge's yard (under the litter
ing law), and for praying and refusing to move when ordered
by police.
The ungodly attitude
of
what appears to be the majority of
people in this country today, and
of
the media generally, was
expressed by Paul Jasper, Editorial Page Editor of the
Pensacola News Journal, in a November 30th, 1986 editorial
immediately after the events of that weekend. The editorial
was entitled,
Mob violence cannot
e
tolerated
This title
itself sets the tone for the unbiblical views expressed. The
comments refer to
the violent confrontation between Pensa
cola police and pro-life protesters as an especially frighten
ing development t speaks of the level of violence and
. contempt for law in these pro-life marches escalating. t
accuses so-called pro-life marches
of
being led by profes
sional, out-of-town protesters whose singular goal s to
precipitate violent controntations. t says these protests are
given to total disrespect of the law and personal property
rights.
This is absurd rhetoric for at least three obvious reasons.
First. it is highly inconsistent, inappropriate and ludicrous on
the face of it, to vilify those who block a car from moving, or
leave a sign in a yard, and characterize this as mob violence ,
when it is being done to save lives from being murdered.
When we compare blocking a car with the murder that goes on
in the clinics, which is the violent act? To have to call this
analogy to anyone's attention is indicative
of
the state of
affairs in our country today.
Secondly, as intimated above, the actions
of
those pro
lifers who were arrested can hardly be accurately characterized
by such expressions as mob violence and violent con
frontation.
f
these were accurate descriptions then a great,
great deal more could have happened. f abortionist, abortion
supporters, pro-abortion media, and pro-abortion people in the
judiciary and the police were
to
receive what they de serve, it
could truly be described as mob violence and violent
confrontation.
Thirdly, it shows a callous lack
of
perception and a clear
ungrateful attitude to speak of pro-life activists, generally,
with such expressions as contempt for law and total
disrespect for the law. The truth is that Christians have the
highest regard for duly constituted law of anybody. The
Christian hates lawlessness. This is, in fac
t
the reason the
Christian pro-lifer hates abortion.
t
is against the law
of
the
Picketers block a
truck
which tried to enter
the
compound or the closed abortion clinic. Martha Rawlins
of the Chalcedon Presbyterian Church s
at
upper left.
One of the women blocking the
truck
is hauled off by
Pensacola Policemen.
One or the people participating_ in the picket ls Elizabeth
Andrews, 68, of Lewisburg, Tennessee, the mother of
Joan Andrews. Elizabeth was arrested later on thls day.
When picketers went to the Escambla County Jail to
vlsit those arrested, they were told to leave and
threatened with
arrest
________ The Counsel of Chalccdon, January, 1987
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8/12/2019 1987 Issue 1 - Protest in Pensacola - Counsel of Chalcedon
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:
>
. i
Saturday
morning, November 29,
Joe
Scheidler of
Chicago, Ullnois addresses the pro-life crowd
in
Pensacola's Seville
square.
Saturday
November
29, the
pro-lifers picket
the
home
of
Circuit Judge
William Anderson,
the
judge who sentenced
_
Joan
Andrews to 5 years in prison for
t r y i n ~ :
to save
lives. -
Ray Harris 6 ~ o f
Houston
1
Texas, wears a sign which
says.,."NeutraU
fs
disobedience to the Word of
God."
Mi
narrJs was ater
arrested
for
alledgedly "stealing" a
policeman's radio
., .
_ J; be
i
9 u n s e l
qf
Chalcedon, January,
1987
...1
God who created life and all things. The ONLY conditions
under
which
a Christian can even consider breaking
any law is
when that law is contrary to the law of God.
t
s only because
abortion
is
so clearly a violation of the law
of
God that
the
pro-life Christian would break
any
man-made law, even in
the
slightest degree.
The plain truth is that those who should be fairly
characterized by terms such
as
"contempt for the
law and
"total disrespect for the law" are
the
judiciary in this
COWltry
that supports legalized abortion, a civil magistrate that pro
tects abortionists and harrasses those who would save life,
and
journalists such
as
Paul Jasper
who
revile against those
who
respect God's law and seek
to
excuse themselves for
gross
violations of God's law, to the point of murder.
Mr. Jasper says, in
his
editorial, that the Pensacola
News
Journal opposes legalized abortion. From
ta1king
with people
in Pensacola it would seem that this is pure rhetoric, There
is
no .evidence that they mean . t. They have done nothing to
prove such a contention.
nd
any time someone does try to
do
something to show they really oppose abortion, Mr. Jasper
and his colleagues at the News Journal and other newspapers
invariably vilify and slander them for their efforts to stop
rampant
n g o d l ~ e s s
Paul Jasper's true colors showed loud and clear in a later
editorial in which
he
ended with the words, "They ought to
take every .fanatic in the world and shoot . hem down like a
dog.'' The context
of
his statement left little doubt in
the
minds
of
Pensacola residents who informed me
of
.
this
editorial that he
was
referring to what he views
as
pro-life
fanatics. . .
As
we have reiterated many times in the pages of
this
magazine, the civil magistrate
was
ordained by God
to
protect
those who do good and to punish those who do evil.
(Romans
13:1-7; I Peter 2:13-14) Good and evil, of course, are defmed
by God and the civil magistrate is under obligation to function
according
to
God's law. He will give
an
account to God
on
judgment day as to how well he functioned according
to
God's
will
as
found
in
Holy Scripture
.We can respect and admire a police force which
is
diligent
in putting down genuine lawlessness. We Christians are,
above anyone, what is commonly called "law and order
men
and women. Murderers and thieves and all other breakers of
legitimate law should be apprehended, tried, convicted and
punished. For the most par t law enforcement is too lenient in
this country. However, the civil magistrate, at least
as
much
as
. everyone else
in
God's world,
is
obligated
to
rule in a
manner consistent with God's law. In the abortion situation,
it
is
th
abortionist who is breaking Go4's l.aw. He is plainly
guilty of murder. The fact that a majority of the seven men on
the Supreme Court declare that abortion
is
acceptable
does
not
change the fact that it is murder. Whatever God says is right is
right and whatever He says is
wrong
is wrong. That's
unequivocal and final. There is
no
room for discussion. The
majority
of
people in America,
or all
people everywhere,
can
think
abortion is optional
(}{
acceptable, but that does not
change the fact that God says it
is
murder, murder s wrong,
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8/12/2019 1987 Issue 1 - Protest in Pensacola - Counsel of Chalcedon
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and
murderers shall be judged according
ly. If the judiciary, the police, and the
people of Pensacola, and every other
jurisdiction in this country do not have
the sense to fear the Creator of the uni
verse nor the will to bow
to His rule,
then they
will accept the consequences,
like
it or
not.
In this
case the will
of
God is too
clear to be debated or questioned. Civil
servants must rule according
to
the will
of God. They must put a stop to
abortion. And
i f
they will not do that,
they
must at least stop punishing and
harras
ing
God-fearing people who desire
to obey and please the sovereign God of
the
universe by opposing and seeking
to
stop the atrocious murder of unborn
babies.
Paul Jasper, in his editorial, refers to
the rank and file citizenry
of
Pensacola
as
God-fearing, patriotic citizens.
Poor choice
of words, Mr. Jasper. No
one
who
does not oppose abortion can
be called God-fearing. And
i f
patriotic
now
characterizes Americans who freely
shake their fists in the face of God, the
Creator and Ruler of all things, then
this
country
is
in
sad shape indeed.
As
for those
of us
who re Chris
tians
,
we
are surely under obligation to
fight abortion. It
is
difficult to know
how
God would have us to fight
an
evil
such
as abortion, but we
all
must be
actively and physically involved in
seeking
to
bring a stop
to
abortion in
the
United States.
Until recently when I heard the name
Pensacola I thought
of two things. I
thought
of
the Pensacola Christian
School and College and of the Pensa
cola Theological Institute. The former
is
one of the best known and largest
Christian schools in the world. The
latter is associated with the Mcllwaine
Memorial Presbyterian Church PCA) .
Over the past few decades most of the
outstanding Reformed preachers, teach
ers, scholars and writers have spoken at
the Institute. But,
if
Pensacola Chris
tian
School and College are doing any
thing to
stop abortion, I
am
not aware
of
it, and neither are the pro-life
activists with whom I have contact in
Pensacola. f the Mcllwaine Presby
terian Church or any other PCA church-
es or members
are
doing anything to try
to stop abortion,
I
don't know about
it
and neither do the main pro-life activ
ists in Pensacola.
From now on when
I
think
of
Pensacola, I shall think of apathetic
churches and Christians .
I
shall
think
of
mean spirited, godless judges
and policemen.
I
shall think
of
ungodly
journalists who fly
in
the face of the
God who created all things, who gov
erns all things, and who shall judge all
things on that terrible Day. The people
of Pensacola, of Escambia County, and
of
the state of Florida need
to
rise up
and demand righteous leaders . It is a
shame that people have to come from
all over the country
to
protest ungod
liness because no more than a handful
of Floridians can be found to t ke a
stand.
The sad thing is that Pensacola and
Florida are not that different from other
cities and other states in this once great
and God-fearing country.
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The Counsel of Chalcedon, January, 1987
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