Governor Joan Finney praises the fetus fanatics at their rally

"We will drive the child-killers out of Wichita."—Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue

"We will drive the child-killers out of Wichita."—Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue

Arrests on Monday numbered ninety-four protesters. Loitering was the charge for most of them. Judge Kelly once again ordered U.S. Marshals to keep the entrance to Dr. Tiller's clinic open because city officials were not doing their jobs.

Protesters swarmed the police on Tuesday and there were 214 more arrests. "It was like a flood," said Capt. Scantlin. "They overwhelmed the officers. They simply shoved our officers up against the fence. We couldn't hold our line." The charge was criminal trespass. At Last!

Now six U.S. Marshal's deputies were present at the clinic, as instructed by Judge Kelly. They arrested four Operation Rescue leaders: Tucci, Vollman and Slovenec of Cleveland, Ohio; and Jeff White of Orange County, California, for violating the TRO. Slovenec had directed protesters to block the entrance to the clinic. Vollman and White had jumped in front of Dr. Tiller's van and crawled under it as he attempted to enter the clinic. Tucci had blocked the entrance. That afternoon, Judge Kelly discovered that Tucci had not received a copy of the TRO and released him. Marshals attempted to serve the order in the hall outside the courtroom. Tucci simply refused to accept it. The charge for the other three leaders was contempt of court. They were jailed.

On Wednesday, Day 17 of the siege, Terry cried in Judge Kelly's courtroom and begged to go home to his wife and children. He promised to leave town; Judge Kelly believed him; Judge Kelly released him. Terry's act had worked once again. Because of Terry's promise, Judge Kelly told the marshals to go home. The police chief announced that all officers would return to their regular duties.

That afternoon a high-level official with the marshal service stopped by the PCAL house for a drink of water. He accepted a soft drink and sat down. I asked what had been happening. Why allow protesters to picket Dr. Tiller's house? Why allow people to violate the TRO? He was reluctant to say anything— angry, yet resigned. He was cautious. Eventually, he said the marshals were in Wichita only to support the police and they were to make arrests for only the most blatant violations of the court order. That answered my questions. He said the orders had come as a direct result of a conversation between President George H.W. Bush and the Attorney General of the United States, Dick Thornburgh and passed down through the chain of command. He suggested that if we had any pull at the congressional level, we should use it. He did not hold out much hope for restoring order.

Later the U.S. Marshal verified that the enforcement of the TRO was given to the local police and the marshals. This had never happened in the history of the U.S. Marshal Service. However, he added, "The TRO had to be issued jointly to local police and the marshals. This was necessary because local police had the resources, including people, buses, jail space, etc.; the marshal service did not." He added, "Local politics plays a major role in the amount of cooperation you get."

On Thursday, Terry announced that Judge Kelly had misinterpreted his comments and that blockades would continue. Two days passed with no blockades and no arrests. Several dozen protesters gathered across the street from the clinic, sang hymns, and prayed. Operation Rescue leaders stopped by the clinic and announced that their intelligence indicated that abortions were not being performed, so no rescues were planned. I had always thought of their "intelligence" as an oxymoron. Staff had arrived at 6 a.m., and patients arrived shortly thereafter. ProChoice Action League volunteers stood guard at the gate, most wearing "Abort Operation Rescue" buttons.

Operation Rescue leaders began courting the local Catholic and fundamentalist clergy. One minister of a Baptist Church acknowledged that he would blockade. When asked about an arrest, he stated, "What's the sacrifice of being put on a bus? That seems like a pretty small cost."

On August 1, we learned that Gov. Joan Finney decided to address the Operation Rescue rally the following day. Pro-choice people were outraged. ProChoice Action League sent out a call for a counter-demonstration. We had less than twenty-four hours to notify people, but volunteers worked well into the night to call our members with details. We arrived at the rally with pro-choice signs and a lot of frustration and anger.

The antis outnumbered us three to one. I circulated through our crowd, suggesting to our people that we not make assumptions about her message. "Let's wait and see what she has to say before we react. If she has come to praise them—go for broke, no holds barred." Finney's first sentence was something about protecting the unborn. From that moment on, three hundred pro-choice activists booed, hissed, chanted, and jeered. The governor commended Operation Rescue protesters "for the orderly manner in which you have conducted your demonstrations" which we found ignorant, inflammatory, pathetic, and contemptible. We were not the only ones dissatisfied with Finney. Judge Kelly said, "I was waiting to hear a call to order and never heard it." A bumper sticker we had been selling from the ProChoice Action League house became very popular. It said, "Don't blame me, I didn't vote for her."

Of course, Operation Rescue was thrilled at Finney's participation. This was the first time in the history of Operation Rescue that a sitting governor had addressed one of the group's rallies. Now we had complicity at every level of government—the mayor of Wichita, the governor of Kansas, and the president of the United States. No media had been willing to carry my charges, but the anarchy was real. Lawbreakers, aided and abetted at every turn, were running the city. A truly telling quote came from an Operation Rescue leader from New York, "Here in Wichita they treat you like royalty. It's amazing."