Eric and Joe bring “Ground Zero” to Denver

I’m here in Denver with the Scheidlers as they bring the “Aurora Method” of fighting Planned Parenthood to the Mile High City. Updates below: 9:45am MST: I want to provide a little background before blogging away on the Denver protest and rally. We arrived in Denver yesterday morning and immediately met up with local pro-life leaders who are fighting the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic under construction here. Joe and Eric were interviewed on Bob Enyart Live, a Christian radio program with a nation wide audience, and called on the community to support the protest. We then spent the evening with Will Duffy and Keith Mason, the men who are organizing today’s events. Will was the first to call on contractors to stop building the new Planned Parenthood clinic once their deceptive practices were uncovered – the same practices PP used to sneak into Aurora. Keith moved to Colorado from Kansas to help with the pro-life movement here, especially with the fight against Planned Parenthood’s proposed Denver clinic. We ended the day with some strategic planning for the Saturday rally. 10:00 MST: The outdoor rally is about to begin. We just arrived after spending the morning at a local PP clinic which has been in operation for years. Joe and Eric met with the pro-lifers who faithfully protest that clinic on Vine Street every week. I was impressed to see so many people out at the clinic, praying and singing hymns in order to support life – I’m encouraged and motivated to see such a strong pro-life presence already active here in Denver! 10:10 MST: Eric has kicked off the rally with a short speech, and Joe will be taking the stage soon after. I’m going to do some video taping, and will be back blogging shortly… 10:20 MST: Eric gave his speech to explain the success we’ve had in Aurora, and to remind everyone of the high stakes in this battle. He showed a large picture of baby Malachi, a child murdered through abortion and frequently shown in pro-life literature. Eric reminded us that we need to see those images, and we need to remember that PP repeats the horrors endured by baby Malachi every day. 10:40 MST: Will and Keith just gave their speeches – great stuff to get the crowd pumped up! Will kicked of his speech by reminding us all that “life starts at fertilization and ends at Planned Parenthood!” Joe then started the crowd with a strong chant of “life yes, abortion no… Planned Parenthood is going to go!!!” I think we’re about to start the march around the clinic. 10:50 MST: Wow! I didn’t realize it at first, but we’ve got a fantastic turnout! Hundreds have braved the Colorado cold to protest Planned Parenthood today. The crowd is signing ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ and ‘Amazing Grace’ as they march around the block where the clinic is under construction. Now that they are spread out for the march, I can see just how many people are here – Eric is leading procession, and it’s so long that he’s half way around the block and many have not even started the march yet! 11:00 MST: The march around the clinic concluded a few minutes ago, and Tom Brejcha is addressing the crowd. Tom gave some background on his US Supreme Court victories while defending Joe Scheidler, and is now offering legal guidance to the local pro-lifers. I like how he reminded us that the law IS on our side. We do have a First Amendment right to be here and defend the unborn… and we should never fear exercising our Constitutional rights. 11:10 MST: The outdoor rally just concluded with a short prayer. We’re moving to the Radison hotel for an indoor rally in about an hour. I’ll resume blogging then, and will hopefully get some pictures up in the mean time! 12:30 MST: We’ve moved to the Radison hotel just down the block for an indoor rally. Keith, Will, Eric, Joe and Tom are scheduled to start speaking soon… 12:45 MST: Will is starting things off. He’s giving the history behind the Planned Parenthood clinic under construction in Denver. When Will first uncovered PP’s plans, he went to the contractors and immediately asked them to stop. The main contractor is the Weitz Company, and the local pro-life community is calling on the Weitz contractors and the subcontractors to quit. 12:55 MST: Will and others have staged a campaign of protesting the contractors, subcontractors, and the homes of those involved in clinic’s construction. So far the tactics have produced some great successes – two subcontractors have quit, one subcontractor refused to accept a contract from the Weitz company, and numerous individual workers have up and quit once they learned they were working on an abortion clinic. Will even received a phone call from a subcontractor that promised to never work on a Planned Parenthood clinic again. 1:00 MST: Keith just introduced Joe to give his speech… 1:10 MST: Joe told the crowd how much he loves Denver. He’s been here in the past, and even spent a night in jail here some years back. He told the story of that trip – how he was falsely jailed, how crowds gathered outside to demand his release, and how he was finally let free the next day. When he was in jail, he got one phone call to his wife Ann. When he asked her “honey, guess where I am”, she immediately responded with “let me guess… in jail.” I wonder how she knew. 🙂 1:15 MST: Joe is telling stories of how so many pro-aborts have been converted by pro-life witness. These stories remind us that our cause is right, but we need to get the message out as much as possible to change hearts and minds. We need to remember that God is on our side, and we have great hope in our ultimate victory over the scourge of abortion. Joe knows a half-dozen former abortion doctors, and believes that pickets, persuasion, and prayer changed their views to pro-life. Now that they are on our side, they freely admit that the Truth does win out if we continue to persevere. 1:18 MST: Now Joe is focusing on the need to persevere. Henry Hyde, a good friend and ally of Joe, called on pro-lifers time and again to stay strong and persevere. We can find excuse after excuse to not attend pro-life events, but we are called to find the time and energy to contribute the best we can. He reminded the crowd that there is an amazing opportunity here in Denver since the clinic is still under construction. The clinic in Aurora was already built before we discovered it, and we still managed to shut it down for weeks – how much more is possible here in Denver since this clinic is not even built yet! 1:30 MST: Now tom Brejcha is addressing the crowd regarding our legal rights as pro-lifers in America. 1:40 MST:Tom recounted many of the First Amendment violations endured by pro-lifers in Illinois, and the victories we’ve had when standing up for our rights. Time and again, events have proven the pro-life movement to be the most peaceful in American history, yet many false accusations are thrown our way. Even today, Planned Parenthood actually called the Radison hotel to warn them that “anti-choice terrorists” were coming to the hotel. Sadly, the hotel listened to these baseless accusations and forced the local organizers to hire four security guards during the talks. It doubled the cost of the event, and was an obvious ploy by PP to once again smear pro-lifers. And of course the security was unnecessary – both rallies have been completely peaceful, as is the norm with pro-life events. Tom encouraged everyone to always follow police instructions, even when they are in the wrong, but to let pro-life leaders and pro-life lawyers know about the events. We’ve had success with educating the police and using lawsuits to defend our rights, so please report any violations you encounter. 1:50 MST: Now Eric is back on the stage. He’s speaking about the Parental Notification efforts we have in Aurora, and the great pro-life support demonstrated at City Council and Zoning Board meetings. Eric explained how exciting it is to see that enthusiasm spreading to Colorado and across the nation – a growing enthusiasm to get involved, take action, and stand up to Planned Parenthood. 2:00 MST: Eric is giving concrete examples of how we’ve fought Planned Parenthood in Aurora – the Jericho March, City Council Meetings, rallies, press conferences, and round-the-clock prayer vigils. It is amazing to see how God has worked through events and people in Aurora. Eric explains how so many regular people have gotten involved – Jane Fonner serving as a day captain and “water girl”, Elizabeth and Roger Earl organizing the prayer vigils and the web site, Roberta Salagi serving as a prayer warrior, Mary Faye Vasen collecting clergy signatures, Andrea Heeg distributing yard signs throughout Aurora, Matt Yonke blogging on events, and many others. Regular citizens in Aurora have stepped out of their comfort zone and decided to help, and we need the same support here in Denver. 2:10 MST: Now Eric is closing his talk with three requests of those attending: First request – pray every single day, especially for Will Duffy who is heading up the effort. Second request – please contribute to the Denver effort. Financial support is needed to maintain and grow the efforts, and any donation will be greatly appreciated and put to great use. Third request – get two of your friends involved. This is a wonderful opportunity to help, so there is no need to twist any arms. We can all get two new enthusiastic pro-lifers involved if we simply spread the word about how exciting and productive these efforts are. 2:15 MST: The meeting just closed with prayer. Overall the two rallies had fantastic support. Going into the trip I was hopeful that we’d see large crowds, and the Denver pro-lifers did not disappoint. There was a lot of energy at both the outdoor and indoor rallies, and the speakers today did a great job of inspiring the crowds. We had a number of standing ovations during the speeches, and many people are now hanging around to sign up for future activities. God willing, we’ll see even greater support and pro-life successes here in Denver! Well we’re about to attend one last rally and then drive to the airport. There’s snow falling here, so please say a little prayer that our flights get us home safely tonight. I’m signing off from Denver… see you all back home in Illinois soon!