FROM ONE NEWS NOW/AFA

Gov't a no-show in pro-lifer's arrest case
Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 7/6/2010 6:30:00 AMA pro-lifer jailed for praying on the sidewalk of a Washington, D.C. Planned Parenthood won't face charges, but he is considering filing a lawsuit.

Sidewalk counselors had prayed on the public sidewalk, until the organization constructed a fence to prevent them from doing so. June 8, Pat Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition (CDC), was arrested for praying on the same sidewalk. His arraignment was held last week.

"I flew back 3,000 miles especially for the arraignment, [but] the government, the U.S. attorney, the Department of Justice did not even show up," Mahoney reports. "No charges were filed. It was clear that it was an unjust arrest; it's clear that that's a public sidewalk."

While those aspects are obvious to him, he is not sure if they are clear to police or Planned Parenthood. So the CDC director is working with attorneys on a possible lawsuit.

"We're also calling for people to come join us on August 13 and 14 to pray on that public sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood to ensure free speech and the First Amendment are protected," he announces.

Mahoney concludes that more important than free speech is to make sure pro-life counselors are allowed to freely counsel the women who are seeking abortions so they are given a chance to convince them to have their babies instead. He thinks that pro-lifers have been very effective at that, which is why Planned Parenthood is upset.