Over a dozen pro-life advocates arrested at Memphis Planned Parenthood

Police arrested 17 pro-life demonstrators on Friday during what group leaders characterized as a peaceful protest outside a Memphis, Tenn., abortion facility. Over a dozen activists were arrested around 9:30 a.m. ET during a peaceful blockade outside a Planned Parenthood, according to a statement from the advocacy group Rescue Resurrection.

The group characterized the blockage as the largest peaceful act of civil disobedience on behalf of unborn babies in 30 years. The blockade aimed to mark the launch of a new facility for training pro-life activists in nonviolent direct action, the group added. Abortion is illegal in Tennessee, and yet the Planned Parenthood in Memphis is still open and operating, according to the event’s description on Rescue Resurrection’s site. Minors are being quietly taken over state lines to abort their babies without parental knowledge or consent, and this must be stopped, the group said.

What do we know about the activists arrested? Memphis Police spokeswoman Theresa Carlson told WORLD that officers responded to a disturbance reported outside the Planned Parenthood at about 7 a.m. local time. Officers warned protesters multiple times to leave the private property, and ultimately, 17 individuals were arrested, she said in an emailed statement. The individuals will face charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct, Carlson added.

Rescue Resurrection reported that pro-life politician Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, was arrested, alongside the founder of Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, Terrisa Bukovinac.

Others arrested include:

• Activists Joan Andrews Bell and John Hinshaw, previously pardoned by President Donald Trump for past FACE Act convictions

• Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller, founder of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society

• Nathan Berning, co-founder of Let Them Live

At least eight other protesters, ranging in ages from 19 to 70, were also arrested.

WORLD also reached out to Rescue Resurrection for more about the arrests and, as of Friday evening, had not received a response.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report for more about Trump pardoning pro-life protesters charged under the FACE Act.