Abortion

Pennsylvania Woman Being Charged With FACE Violation

The anti-choice protester is accused of pushing two clinic volunteers who were escorting a patient.

Protester being arrested before the FACE Act was passed. (img src)

A Pennsylvania woman is being charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) after allegedly shoving two clinic escorts who were assisting a patient outside a Planned Parenthood.

Via The Post Gazette:

Meredith Parente, 55, violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court, when on Jan. 15 she shoved two people who were escorting a potential patient to the facility. The Planned Parenthood location is the scene of frequent anti-abortion protests.

If guilty, she can be assessed a civil penalty of $15,000 and damages of $5,000 to the two victims, the complaint said.

As of 2009, Parente was a “veteran sidewalk counselor” who provided “training” for other anti-choice activists. This is not her first time being charged with restricting access to a clinic entrance, she was also charged in 2004, although those citations were dropped.