TFP volunteers are used to facing ridicule and even violence while protesting abortion.
However, what happened in St. Paul, Minnesota, both tested our mettle and strengthened our resolve.
On June 18, we were holding a rosary rally outside of a large Planned Parenthood facility on Vandalia Street. At first, everything seemed to be normal. A few local pro-lifers were already praying outside the clinic, and were happy to receive abundant reinforcements of 13 young, invigorated men. In return, we thanked them for their years of dedication to the pro-life cause.
One black man emerged from Planned Parenthood and made the confusing claim that our rally was racist. This comment is bizarre, especially considering that the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was a known racist who hoped that abortion could help eliminate the black race.
We also pointed out that our members were not all white but included a Filipino, a Puerto Rican, and two Peruvians.
After this strange encounter, we moved one block down the road, where there was much more traffic. We held out our famous “Honk” signs. For the first half-hour, we were doing quite well and received dozens of honks.
Then, Things Turned Ugly.
Two women, followed by three young children, began screaming at us from afar. One was noticeably more aggressive than the other. What they were screaming is too vulgar to repeat here.
After a minute, they walked past us and waited at the crosswalk. We assumed they would cross the street and the incident would end.
However, that was not the case.
The more aggressive woman suddenly turned around, with a can of mace spray in her hands. Before we could even react, the videographer and I found ourselves choking on the powerful fumes.
Unfortunately, she didn’t stop there. As she crossed in front of our banner, she sprayed the mace in the direction of our youngest volunteers. Three more were hit, including two brothers who are both minors. Tears were streaming down the younger one’s face.
Meanwhile, we were already on the phone with 911. The perpetrator continued across the street, and one of our volunteers followed from a distance to make sure they didn’t escape before the police arrived.
However, before the police arrived, the aggressor suddenly turned around and approached the volunteer who followed her. After a short back-and-forth, she sprayed his hands, making him the sixth victim.
Finally, four police vehicles arrived on the scene and spoke to those who were assaulted. We provided them with video evidence, and the attacker was taken into custody on the spot.
The Battle Goes On
After such an incident, one could imagine we would be discouraged, or even scared to take to the streets again.
However, mace is made to be an irritant that wears off after a while. For us, the attack was an irritating incident that caused some discomfort but did not distract us from our mission.
It did not discourage us in the least. On the contrary, even the youngest of our volunteers were happy to endure this suffering, as they realized that the blows were received in defense of God’s law. We were commenting on how this attack was a type of modern-day martyrdom.
Now is not the time to retreat. The movement to defund Planned Parenthood is stronger than ever. We have never been this close to shutting down the symbolic head of America’s abortion establishment and promoter of the sexual revolution. Thus, our resolve to oppose the culture of death is stronger than ever before, no matter what happens to us.
We were insulted. We were ridiculed. We were assaulted. But we will never, ever give up the fight for God’s law.