It occurs to me, rather belatedly, that the annals of the rescues we undertook from 1988 to 1992 have never been typed up. Should I die tomorrow, the records would be lost forever and my kids will have only the vaguest memory of my goings and comings.
A rescue, of course, (under the auspices of Operation Rescue) is a peaceful attempt to stop the killing of unborn babies at the places where they are scheduled to be killed, i.e., abortion “clinics.” Rescues are so-called from Proverbs 24:11: “”Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, behold, we did not know this, does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? ”
We first got our feet wet, my friend Dolores Teleski, I, and some hundreds others, under the leadership of Randy Terry, at four rescues in New York City in May, 1988. As I recall we stayed at the Times Square Hotel.
May 2, 1988 – Manhattan
May 3, 1988 – Queens
May 5, 1988, Long Island
May 6, 1988, Manhattan
We were arrested but dismissed.
July 5, 1988, we went to Paoli, PA where we were jailed for two days at the Chester County prison
July 7, 1988, Philadelphia. All I really remember is that it was dreadfully hot and once I was able I drank all of a mammoth Coke.
July 19, 1988, we got on a bus in New York which took us down to Atlanta where we were arrested at the Surgical Center, refused to give our names, and for the first time gave our names as Baby Doe. I was BD 69 and Dolores BD 70. We stayed in a Camp for awhile, sort of a barracks arrangement with bunk beds, all the women in one room and jail there didn’t seem half bad. We could go out in the yard and talk to people outside the fence. We were then transferred to the new Fulton County Jail with cells that we had to stay in at night, quite hard to deal with because of my agoraphobia. I stayed 14 days and quit; it eventually cost me $550. Dolores stayed behind until they threw her out, time served.
? date We went drove up to Boston and the next morning traveled by bus to a clinic in Providence. Were they surprised! Dolores was arrested there but I was not, and somehow we came home together.
October, 1988, a rescue in Bridgeport, dismissed on a technicality.
November 29, 1988, Hartford, arrested, nulled, reduced to an infraction.
January 13, 1989, Planned Parenthood in NYC. Not arrested.
January 14, 1989, another Planned Parenthood. Not arrested.
March 4, 1989, Medical Options in my home town of Danbury CT, arrested for creating a public disturbance. Dismissed on 5/25.
April 1, 1989, West Hartford, I did not go, police brutality was reported.
April 29, 1989, Shrewsbury NJ. I don’t remember this at all. Not arrested.
June 17, 1989, West Hartford with many more people than April. We were going to “show them.” Police removed their names and badges and upped the brutality. There are photos and videotapes of this episode. Three times in my life I have screamed involuntarily; two time were caused by a swarthy W. Hartford cop without a badge, who did things to my left arm I didn’t know were possible. I subsequently saw a doctor for the left shoulder injury. Spent 12 days in Niantic women’s prison. On the way to Niantic we were told we would be safe there but the “accommodations” were pitiful. There should be a movie of this “adventure.”
September 23, 1989, Bronx, not arrested.
October 28, 1989, Norwalk, arrested for criminal trespass and breach of peace, reduced to an infraction and discontinued.
April 7, 1990, New Haven, criminal trespass, reduced to infraction, found guilty $15 fine remitted.
September 28, 1990, Dobbs Ferry, trespass, resisting arrest, interfering with government admin, kept in solitary, then to Valhalla Hospital for blood pressure, found guilty of trespass, dismissed time served.
November 11, 1991, Medical Options, Danbury, not arrested.
January 29, 1991, Womens Pavilion, Dobbs, Ferry NY, not arrested..
February 2, 1991, Greenburg, White Plains, NY, not arrested.
August 19, 1991, Wichita, KS, not arrested. Abortuary famous for late term abortions. Quite a trip!
April 21, 1992, Buffalo, not arrested.
April 22, 1992 (where the heck is that?) guilty of disorderly conduct, served two days
August 8, 1992, Danbury Medical Options, arrested criminal trespass. 10/30/92 Reduced to simple trespass, $35 fine and $30 costs.
September 14, 1992, Stamford, not arrested.
July 21, 1993, Dobbs Ferry, not arrested.
October 9, 1993, Dobbs Ferry, arrested, trespass, 10 day sentence.
I must apologize for my sloppy bookkeeping. When I made these notes I had no idea I would someday blog about these experiences. There does exist, in my possession, a videotape of the second West Hartford rescue which shows many people manhandled and you can see me being dragged (of course we wouldn’t walk!) down a hall and then my two screams can be heard.
It is over twenty years later. We didn’t stop abortion. Roe v. Wade has not been overturned. Undercover video tapes have been made inside abortuaries where they talk nonchalantly about selling baby parts. Barack Obama is the most pro-abortion president ever. The Senate has just passed a bill to defund Planned Parenthood. He will veto it. God help us all.
Randy Terry has since studied all about Islam and is making a high-tech movie “What would Muhammad do?” We carry on.