Original_To:  BITNET%"CHRISTIA@ASUACAD.BITNET"
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.christia
Date:         Tue, 28 Jul 1992 20:24:00 EST
From:         197850@XAVIER.BITNET
Subject:      RE: pro-abortionists blockade church

Date sent:  28-JUL-1992 20:02:03
Hello all fellow CHRISTIAns!
        I am a fairly new subscriber to CHRISTIA and I have been silently
sitting here reading all of the posts and taking them in stride, saving the
ones I want to and deleting all others.  I have tried to sit silently and not
really get involved because I although I have been raised Catholic, thus
Christian, my whole life, I have not really begun to truly believe until
recently.  I am 21 years old and just now finding God, but I am still allowed
to have my opinions on the matters discussed here.  I am posting this in an
attempt to 1) allow others to affirm my beliefs or to show me the error in my
ways, and 2) to voice another opinion on the outside chance that a seemingly
new Christian might have some insight.

        The first issue that I want to tackle is about the post dated 17 July
92 from >f_griffith@CCSVAX.SFASU.EDU (Reynolds).  The topic is that of
abortion and the blockading of a Church by pro-choicers, and the seeming
unfairness of this act.
>
>
>On Tuesday pro-abortionists blockaded St. Agnes Catholic Church in
>New York City because they heard that Operation Rescue was to have
>a meeting there.
>  CBN news showed video footage that brought out the contrast: police
>guarding an abortuary and seeing that women could be escorted in for
>abortions followed by a scene of the pro-abortionists being allowed
>by the police to turn away parishioners from the church.
>  The chants of the pro-ababortion, but anti-Christian.
>  On Wednesday the court turned down a request for an injunction against
>the pro-abortionists on the same terms as an injunction that had been
>entered against Operation Rescue.
>  What has our legal system come to when it's OK to keep people from
>going to church, but not OK to keep women from killing their babies.
>
>                         Reynolds
>
>they are not merely pro-bortion, but also anti-Christian.


        While I must admit that this is a very Christian stance on the issue, I
also have to look at it from other views.  While I try to consider myself a
Christian, I also consider myself a human and an American and I must also live
by the laws of these, as well as the laws of my faith.  I understand how this
situation seems unjust, as well as morally wrong, but there are other sides of
the issue that one must also take into account.
        I do not believe that the court has any right to keep people from
protesting in front of the church -- a religious establishment, as guarenteed
by the "Separation of Church and State" clause.  I might be wrong, but when an
issue of this type comes before the courts, they must be careful not to step on
any toes -- as our legal system seeks to do so often!  Anyway, the courts have
already passed laws that it is not legal to blockade abortion clinics -- places
of business.  While none of us may agree with the practices that go on in such
a business, it is still a business and has the right to enterprise, the same as
any other legitimate business.  My point here is that while the courts can rule
that it is illegal to blockade a place of business, I don't know that they can
rule the same for a religious establishment.  Could anyone familiar with law
help me on this matter?  Thanks.

Peace in God,
        John
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