It just came to our attention that the Delaware Senate has passed a bill, SB 169, that if passed in the House, will forbid praying, vigiling, and even protesting at abortion clinics within 100 feet! That's almost 3 city blocks...on public sidewalks!! This is a DIRECT ASSAULT on our First Amendment rights!!
As you may know, DRTL has held regular prayer vigils at two clinics in Wilmington and one in Dover for the past several months. These have been extremely fruitful, as we have witnessed many saves and educated many passers-by on the atrocity of abortion. THIS BILL COULD PUT A STOP TO ALL OF IT!!!
ACTION
We need YOU to blitz (call and email) your state legislators IMMEDIATELY!! Tell them NO on SB 169! You can find your State Representative here: http://pollingplace.delaware.gov/. Please also forward this email to every Delaware pro-lifer you know!
More importantly, please also be prepared to GO TO DOVER TOMORROW (Tuesday) for the House vote! They snuck this bill through the Senate, and we're sure they intend to sneak it through the House tomorrow, the last day of the 2009 session. This bill is backed by Planned Parenthood and we know they don't want to wait until January!!
You can see the text of the bill here: http://legis.delaware.gov/LIS/lis145.nsf/vwLegislation/SB+169/$file/legis.html?open
In summary, the bill forbids "Obstructing Ingress to or Egress from a Health Care Facility":
A person is guilty of obstructing ingress to or egress from a health care facility when the person:
1) knowingly obstructs, detains, hinders, impedes, or blocks another person’s entry to or exit from a health care facility; or
(2) knowingly approaches another person, within eight feet of the person, unless such person consents, for the purpose of protest, education or counseling of such other person in the public way or area within a radius of one hundred feet from the exterior perimeter of the health care facility.
Obstructing ingress to or egress from a health care facility is a Class B misdemeanor.”
The right to protest on public sidewalks has, of course, already been settled in federal courts. The "Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act" protects our First Amendment rights! You can see this act here: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/facestat.php.
I will be sending out more information in the coming hours. The NEXT 24 HOURS are extremely important!!! Please be on alert for further details!