‘We’re Here For The Children’ 200 Protest Peacefully At Clinic
In a baseball cap and a black “Nike Town” jacket, the Rev. Gordon Peterson stepped up to a makeshift plate Saturday morning and delivered his best swing against abortion.
Peterson stood on top of a tarp-covered platform in front of the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Spokane, held a blue microphone and waved his arms to punctuate a speech asking God for help.
“We’re not just here today for one another,” said Peterson, his voice booming over the parking lot. “We’re here for the children. We’re here for the mothers. … Ultimately, we’re here for God.”
About 200 people squeezed onto the sidewalk in front of the Planned Parenthood clinic at 123 E. Indiana Saturday morning, sang hymns and prayed for abortions to end. They were young and old, but all were bundled against the weather. Umbrellas dotted the crowd. The speakers were wrapped in plastic garbage bags.
Demonstrators braved rushes of wind and snow to listen to Peterson. The anti-abortion speaker from Minneapolis is probably best known for being turned away from the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway with 11 other anti-abortion demonstrators.
Four other men also spoke to the crowd, including Jim Anderson of Lifeline Ministries, who met Peterson in a Buffalo, N.Y., jail after the two were arrested during an anti-abortion rally.
“We’re at a place of death,” Anderson said. “We’re here to make it a place of hope and life today.”
Orange-and-white barricades lined the clinic’s parking lot, and about 15 clinic escorts and members of the Planned Parenthood Clergy Advisory Committee watched the demonstrators.
But nobody was looking for a confrontation. Nobody waved signs. Nobody shouted at any of the cars entering the clinic.
One of the group’s sidewalk counselors was mostly ignored as she tried to hand out leaflets outlining abortion alternatives and featuring pictures of fetuses.
Clinic Director Sandra Meicher said she hoped the peaceful protest was a reflection of Spokane’s community spirit.
“Our biggest concern is the safety of our patients, the safety of the staff and the safety of these people,” said Meicher, pointing at the demonstrators.
As demonstrators sang songs, many held their hands up to the sky and closed their eyes. They prayed fervently to Jesus. One man held rosary beads in his right hand and a large picture of the sacred heart of Jesus in his left hand.
Anderson asked supporters to sign up to help with the group’s efforts, which include organizing people who pass out anti-abortion pamphlets to clinic patients more than a dozen times a month.
“The most dangerous thing we do is share the gospel of Jesus,” Anderson said. “If you put that in the paper, I’ll fall over.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo