A pro-life church has been ordered to pay the Planned Parenthood abortion chain nearly $1 million in fines and fees for holding supposedly disruptive worship services outside of its Spokane, Washington facility.
According to The Christian Post, a judge ruled against The Church at Planned Parenthood in 2021, saying its pro-life members “interfered” with patients’ “access to health care” in violation of state law during worship services outside its Spokane abortion facility.
Then, in January, the court ordered the church to pay $110,000 in damages and $850,000 in legal fees to Planned Parenthood, The Guardian reports.
Responding to the order, Pastor Ken Peters said the case basically came down to the issue of a single hour.
“Planned Parenthood Sues our little church for Peaceful Assembly and it costs Christians $850,000 for mostly Corrupt Lawyer’s Fees,” Peters wrote on Facebook. “The only difference… We have to do 7pm instead of 6pm, and go across the street. $850k over one hour and across the street. Wow. That’s a lot of money they stole from the Kingdom over one hour. We are restarting again March 14 at 7pm. See you there Pacific NW. It ain’t over.”
Planned Parenthood and Legal Voice filed a lawsuit against the church in 2020. They claimed the pro-life Christians were bullying patients and staff and interfering with Planned Parenthood’s work. They also claimed the pro-life ministry has been “interfering with patients’ access to healthcare,” because patients sometimes could hear pro-lifers from inside the building.
Church leaders said they held services after hours, but Planned Parenthood leaders claimed some patients still were in the building when the services took place.
“Staff were forced to shuttle patients between offices and patients sometimes chose not to follow through with their appointments, rather than run through the gauntlet of armed protesters blocking their way,” according to Legal Voice, the pro-abortion legal group that represented Planned Parenthood in the case.
However, city police said they have not had problems with the pro-life church, the Spokesman Review reported in 2020. Pro-life sidewalk counselors, pro-life protests and other outreaches are overwhelmingly peaceful, and Church at Planned Parenthood leaders said they conducted their worship services after Planned Parenthood closed for the evening.
Leaders of The Church at Planned Parenthood say they are not protesters. Their purpose is to worship God and pray for repentance “of our blood guiltiness in this abortion holocaust.”
“The Church at Planned Parenthood is a gathering of Christians for the worship of God and the corporate prayer for repentance for this nation, repentance for the apathetic church and repentance of our blood guiltiness in this abortion holocaust,” according to the ministry.
In 2021, however, Judge Timothy Fennessy prohibited the church from holding services within 35 feet of the abortion facility, the Spokesman-Review reported at the time. His order also banned The Church at Planned Parenthood from holding services between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. while patients still are inside the building.
“Reasonable minds can only reach one conclusion, that Covenant Church [which founded The Church at Planned Parenthood] intends to interfere with access to or safe and effective delivery of healthcare services” Fennessy wrote.
Since the church formed in 2018, abortion activists have been trying to restrict its life-saving work. In 2020, the Spokane City Council voted to expand a noise ordinance outside abortion facilities and health care facilities in the city. Pro-life leaders believe the vote directly targeted pro-life sidewalk counselors and The Church at Planned Parenthood….
Full story at LifeNews.
First of all, this wasn’t a “church”, as in meeting for worship in a building called a church. It was a political rally held outside, near the clinic, under the guise of prayer. They are trying to use prayer as a cover for harassment and political demonstration. The court ruled correctly. Hit them in the pocketbook. Lying is a sin, which is what these people have been doing. Also taking God’s name in vain by pretending they were worshiping when they had ulterior motives and aims. The money they will pay in fines could have supported pregnant women. Bet they wanted to act and appear self-righteous instead.
Yeah, who do they think they are? Poor little 1.3 billion dollar budget Planned Parenthood just trying to help human traffickers, abusers and girls in trouble. While these meanies take time away from home and family offer support and love to confused women in need.
Spare us the sanctimony….
using prayer: How do you know they were not praying? If they were demonstrating outside the facility, probably on the sidewalk, so it’s legal. And if it were a political rally, that’s legal, too. They are being fined for coming at 6pm instead of 7pm.
I’m at the point now that I don’t trust Big Pro-Life at all. Today another story about Frank Pavone being creepy and inappropriate towards women was published at The Pillar.
So what should we do about slaughtering humans in Planned Parenthood buildings? Stop exposing these homicidal organizations because Frank Pavone got frisky?
Dear creepyCancel reply: You and Planned Parenthood and other pro-aborts have such pure, delicate, sweet and sensitive feelings that are easily hurt. Aww…
I was praying silently by myself on the sidewalk outside the Planned Parenthood abortuary in my city, when a man wearing the official-looking plastic yellow jacket approached me, saying he was from the Department of Public Works. He said it is against city ordinance to hang a poster or any signs on a tree that belongs to the city. (I had a poster of the Divine Mercy hanging on a tree.) I said I suspect it was PP that complained. He said they are citizens of the city. I said, so am I. He said the tree belongs to people in the city, not just to one individual. I said there are thousands of trees in the city, could I just appropriate this one tree for myself for a couple of hours? He said no. I dared him to arrest me. He said he wouldn’t, but could I just stop and obey city ordinance? I said show me the city ordinance. He said it’s on the city’s website.
I said I’d stay here with my poster until I’m done praying. Would he join me? He went and sat in his car where he watched me until it was time for me to leave.
My point is, why are the pro-aborts so easily offended? Are you? On the other hand, why should they not be, if it’s their conscience that’s bothering them? So Frank Pavone is suspected of something bad, and that offends you to a point where you could not support pro-life activities?
I agree you should not be hanging your personal messages on public property. You should have been fined, and I would have written you up.
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