Attorneys deliver new advantage for pro-life advocates
(TMS) The Thomas More Society, a not-for-profit, national public interest law firm, has delivered a new tool for pro-life advocates in their efforts to reach abortion-minded women and men. The attorneys have released the Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania “Patient Escort Training Manual,” which details expected behavior by abortion-promoting volunteers at the abortion giant. This will be an asset to those who pray and counsel outside abortion facilities, according to the nation’s premier pro-life attorneys, making pro-life advocates aware of what is and what is not appropriate behavior by these abortion “escorts.”
Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation, finds the published guidelines to be inconsistent with the demonstrated behavior of abortion “escorts” that he and his colleagues have encountered in the courtroom, after incidents of “escort” abuse perpetrated against pro-life sidewalk counselors.
The “escort” manual surfaced during the Thomas More Society’s defense of pro-life sidewalk counselor, Mark Houck, who was acquitted of meritless and discriminatory charges by the Biden Department of Justice. The trial, in which Houck was falsely accused of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, revealed that the abortion “escort,” who antagonistically engaged with the devout Catholic father of seven, breached the rules of interaction as dictated by Planned Parenthood.
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The seven-page document details the abortion giant’s guidelines for “escorts” and instructs abortion-promoting volunteers on how to dress, how to interact with others, and what to expect while “on duty.” The guidelines also outline security procedures and responsibilities.
During the Houck trial, Breen’s cross examination of the CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, Dayle Steinberg, detailed how the instructions in the manual explain how “escorts” are to handle conflict.
In Steinberg’s testimony about the manual, she conceded that “it covers security escalations in regard to who to escalate certain security incidents to. It talks about the FACE Act. It talks about what protesters can and cannot do.”
Among the alarming cases in which Thomas More Society attorneys have represented pro-life advocates against despicable behavior by volunteer abortion “escorts,” Breen lists:
- Erika Schanzenbach of Bristol, Tennessee, who was brazenly harassed by abortion facility “escorts” who licked her arms, blared bullhorns in her face, blew in her ear, shadowed her on the public right-of-way outside the abortion venue, and hurled profanities, taunts, and obscene gestures directly in her face
- Daniel French of Montgomery, Alabama, who was sued for destruction of property, after an abortion facility “escort” manager had him arrested, claiming that he was responsible for breaking a $25 umbrella—that was ruined as an angry abortion “escort” smashed it over Daniel’s head
- Ten pro-life sidewalk counselors from Church@the Rock in Brooklyn, New York, who were testified against by the head of the abortion “escort” program at a Jamaica, New York, facility, whose under-oath courtroom testimony was entirely fabricated
Breen observed that this manual will be of use to pro-life sidewalk counselors, helping them know what is expected of those who oppose them on at the nation’s largest abortion clinics.
“We are sharing this manual in hopes that sidewalk counselors will be able to use the information to assist in their creative, committed, and loving approaches to reaching women and men in need,” stated Breen. “We hope that, out of the grave injustice done to Mark Houck and his family, many lives will be saved by pro-life advocates.”
Read or download the full Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania “Patient Escort Training Manual” here.
Editor's note: This article was published by Thomas More Society and is reprinted with permission.
