Pro-Lifer Admits Crossing Buffer Zone Line to Help People

Rebecca Helmes / Clarion Ledger
Longtime anti-abortion protester Roy McMillan admitted in court Friday that he had twice broken a federal agreement to stay 25 feet from Mississippi's only abortion clinic. But the instances, he said, were times when he was moved by compassion to comfort a woman he assumed to be upset about getting an abortion and to help a friend who had passed out in the street. When U.S. Justice Department attorney Julie Abbate asked McMillan if it would be morally justifiable to kill an abortion provider, including Jackson Women's Health Organization physician Joseph Booker, McMillan said he couldn't answer. "I think there are times you can break a law for a higher good," McMillan said. But he said he doesn't admire people who commit violence against abortion providers. Read more...

Related:
Federal Judge Deciding If Abortion Protester Violated Orders
Kathleen Baydala / Clarion Ledger
A decision on whether longtime abortion protester Roy McMillan broke a federal consent decree promising he would stay at least 25 feet from the state’s only abortion clinic and not threaten or intimidate clinic workers could be made on March 28. The U.S. Department of Justice and McMillan's attorney finished calling witnesses for the hearing on Friday. The Department of Justice is asking the judge to: Increase the buffer zone around the clinic from 25 feet to 50 feet. Give compensatory damage of $5,000 to Dr. Joseph Booker, the clinic’s doctor, for each of the four threats McMillan allegedly made against him. Issue an order stating any future violation of the decree’s buffer zone will bring a $1,000 fine. Issue an order stating any future violation of the consent decree’s prohibition on threats will bring a $5,000 fine.

Posted by Editor at March 24, 2008 09:46 AM