When I was young, one of my mother's favorite maxims was, "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament." One look at the left and its media and protestors shows that abortion practically is a sacrament among a segment of the population. The irony, of course, is that it took a group of nine old white men to create the original articles of faith that established that religion.
Sadly, it is an established fact that left-wing protestors can loot, pillage, and burn, and their actions will be ignored or rationalized. In some cases, the rioters may even be reimbursed for their troubles. Those on the right enjoy no such immunity.
On Tuesday in Nashville, six pro-life activists were convicted of violating laws related to the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Life Site News reports that those people include Chester Gallagher of Lebanon, Tenn.; Heather Idoni and Calvin Zastrow of Michigan; Coleman Boyd of Bolton, Miss., and Dennis Green of Cumberland, Va. Also among those convicted was Centerville, Tenn., resident Paul Vaughn, who in 2022 was arrested at gunpoint in front of his family. Another participant, Caroline Davis, pleaded guilty to her charges in October of last year. Davis agreed to cooperate with the government and testify against her co-defendants. Sentencing is set for July. The defendants face a fine of $260,000 and up to 10.5 years in prison.
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The incident in question took place in March of 2021 at the Carafem Health Center Clinic in Mt. Joliet, Tenn. Of note: the center ceased providing abortions a year and a half later in the wake of anti-abortion legislation passed by the state legislature. The nature of the federal charges sounds dire, but the incident involved people entering a hallway, singing hymns, and praying. Some sat in front of the doors to block the entrance to the clinic. It was, by all accounts, a "mostly peaceful protest." (Irony intended.)
Technically, some did block the doors and obstruct access. For that, they face fines and prison time versus a wink and a nod and maybe even a payout for smashing windows and setting fires. One of the changes the defendants face is "conspiracy against rights." A man who identified himself as Matthew told The Daily Wire:
That was the biggest shock to me. It just tells me that the government can use literally anything to get us. A church meeting is now a conspiracy. A gathering of friends is now a conspiracy. Where are the convictions against those blocking the interstates, and blocking the roads, and blocking people from getting to their jobs, hospitals? They’re not convicting them. They’re not concerned about that. They’re concerned about Christians standing in a hallway.
If we are to be completely honest, the event was not a church meeting or a gathering of friends. But Matthew's overarching point simply cannot be ignored. No one was hurt, and nothing was destroyed. But the verdicts are in and were likely foregone conclusions. In America in the 21st Century, there are two avenues of justice: one for the conservatives and one for progressives. And never the twain shall meet.
The decisions in Nashville represent more than a ruling against pro-lifers. The episode is a reminder that in the current incarnation of America, if the wrong people cross the wrong lines to proclaim the wrong values, punishment can be expected.
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