A total of 17 pro-life activists, ten men and seven women, spent the night in a Memphis jail after they staged a peaceful demonstration in front of a Memphis, Tennessee Planned Parenthood facility. “Rescue Resurrection,” a pro-life organization that plans and carries out “rescue” actions across America, organized the December 5 protest.
If we take our Christian faith seriously, then we need to spend significant time reflecting on the inherent dignity of every human life, beginning at conception. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ in the womb of the Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, and the Holy Spirit working on John the Baptist while he was still in the womb all testify to this universal truth. Boldly proclaiming human dignity also means stepping up like these brave souls and risking arrest to save the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.
Several arrested individuals are well-known figures in the pro-life movement, including Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue; Joan Andrews Bell; Teresa Bukovinac, director of Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising; Nathan Berning, director of Let Them Live; and Dr. Monica Miller of Citizens for Life.
According to LifeSite News, conflicting reports about the protest surfaced early Saturday morning, claiming that several people charged with trespassing had already left custody. Most of the individuals involved expected authorities to hold them for the entire weekend while the city’s strained court system processed their cases.
Terry, who spent the night in an overcrowded holding cell without any beds, spoke with the publication and said, “This is a very small price to pay to stand up for the babies.” Nathan Berning, calling from jail, also emphasized the willingness of participants to accept the weighty cost of living out their convictions in the public sphere.
VIDEO THREAD: About 20 anti-abortion activists were arrested outside Planned Parenthood Friday morning in Memphis, many of them carried away by police.
— Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) December 5, 2025
The group, calling themselves "Rescue Resurrection" are hoping to kick-start a new wave of clinic blockades, even in Tennessee,… pic.twitter.com/swqWJR0KCO
“It’s time we make some real sacrifices for the babies, including going to jail,” Berning said. And he’s right. We’re talking about the murder of citizens who have no means of expressing themselves or fighting for their own right to live. Abortion is a modernized form of ancient child sacrifice. Just as humans once offered up the lives of their children for prosperity in the form of a good crop, women today sacrifice their children for the sake of their careers and financial futures. Someone has to speak for the voiceless.
After authorities released her from jail, Joan Andrews Bell expressed her gratitude for taking part in the event and said the gathering marks the beginning of a renewed rescue movement. “It is the greatest privilege to be a part of the first of many of the Rescue Resurrection movement,” she told the publication. “This is what needs to happen to save the babies, and I thank everyone who participated with all my heart.”
Current Tennessee law prohibits abortion. However, many believe Planned Parenthood helps women obtain the horrific procedure in neighboring states where it remains legal. Terry later said, “Planned Parenthood is trafficking these women, helping minors get across state lines to kill their babies.”
“When we sat down in front of the door at 8 a.m., about a dozen police squad cars flew from around the corner and officers poured out,” Terry recalled. “It was startling.”
“They first issued warnings, but we said, ‘We’re not going to leave because Planned Parenthood is the largest murderer of children in the western hemisphere. They’re trafficking baby body parts, they’re trafficking minors to kill their children,’” Terry added. “They are the criminals in this situation.”
Terry then revealed the organization’s next planned stop: Washington, D.C.
“Our next stop is Washington, D.C., on January 22, 2026. We’re asking our pro-life brothers and sisters to join us in a sit-in in front of the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration) headquarters to call on President Trump and Health and Human Services head RFK Jr. to ban the murder [abortion] pill,” Terry said.
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