I met Eleanor in prison. That sounds like we're both inmates. Maybe it sounds like one of us was visiting the other, who happened to be in prison. None of these statements are true. Eleanor and I are volunteers for the Catholic Chaplaincy, in a prison. She is a Lay Franciscan, and I am a Lay Dominican.
Eleanor is an anti-abortion activist. She doesn't throw bombs at abortion clinics. She's not a violent activist. She counsels the women going in to have an abortion. She may distribute leaflets and educational literature, but she's not confrontational.
I'm requesting prayers for the success of her court case on Jan. 15th. You see, the state of Massachusetts has a statute that prohibits anyone from approaching another person entering an abortion clinic, for counseling or educational purposes, within 35 feet of the abortion clinic.
This Massachusetts abortion-clinic-entrance-access law prohibits “peaceful, nondisruptive antiabortion advocacy via the distribution of leaflets and oral advocacy at the very places it is most likely to be effective” .
This is a violation of the First Amendment's guarantees on free speech. So far, this case, McCullen v. Coakley, (Coakley is Massachusetts' Attorney General) has gone as far as the Supreme Court. Eleanor's case will be heard on January 15, 2014. Pray for a successful outcome for Eleanor and all the innocent babies she has saved, and will continue to save, if she wins this case.
