Post by crudo on Sept 21, 2005 18:23:40 GMT -5
Threats targeted at director for Planned Parenthood
By DAVID CHIRCOP
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: September 21, 2005, 04:34:11 AM PDT
MERCED — FBI agents visited at least two anti-abortion activists after the director of Merced's Planned Parenthood clinic became the target of criminal harassment.
Cathy Bright, services manager with the Merced office of Planned Parenthood, said criminal acts designed to terrorize her took place on a few occasions in August.
"The focus and threat has been directed at me and not toward the patients that access medical care at our center," she said, reading a prepared statement.
Planned Parenthood's proposal to construct a 6,000-square-foot building next to Merced High School has drawn protests from several Christian groups in recent months.
Bright declined to provide details on what happened, saying she doesn't want to jeopardize an ongoing investigation.
But she said the health center in Merced is safe. Security has been heightened at the P Street clinic, including the addition of a security guard and camera.
Calls to the FBI office in Fresno and the Merced Police Department were not returned Tuesday. No arrests have been made in connection with the incidents, according to the Merced County district attorney's office.
Anti-Planned Parenthood groups are distancing themselves from the harassment, saying they do not condone violence.
"That's counter to our purposes," said Carl Gregory with Concerned Citizens Against Planned Parenthood, one of two umbrella organizations opposing Planned Parenthood's Merced expansion. "We are a pro-life organization, we're pro-life all the way."
Gregory said he gave two FBI agents a handwriting sample and a printout from his computer for analysis.
Gregory's organization, along with United For Life of Merced County, have organized several protests since learning about Planned Parenthood's decision to move next to the high school.
Although the organization does not perform abortions in Merced, the groups oppose distribution of contraceptives and other services Planned Parenthood provides for minors. Under state law, minors have the right to birth control and abortions without parental permission.
The groups have collected about 2,000 signatures from residents opposed to the clinic and have filled the City Council chamber with people who share their views.
Earlier this month, City Attorney Greg Diaz released an 18-point report outlining the ways the City Council is limited in its ability to block the proposed clinic without impinging on Planned Parenthood's constitutionally protected property rights.
In the meantime, groups against the clinic have hired their own lawyer, who argued that the council can revoke permits for the clinic.
Alan Unterreiner, president of United For Life of Merced County, said he was visited by the FBI on Sept. 8, the day after protesting outside the Merced clinic.
Since February, his group has protested outside the clinic once a week, handing out antiabortion literature to clients.
Unterreiner said FBI agents told him somebody broke a windshield on a vehicle belonging to a Planned Parenthood worker and scrawled a message on her lawn.
"Whoever is doing it needs to be apprehended," he said. "You don't do stuff like this. You just don't. That's vandalism and that's criminal."
By DAVID CHIRCOP
MERCED SUN-STAR
Last Updated: September 21, 2005, 04:34:11 AM PDT
MERCED — FBI agents visited at least two anti-abortion activists after the director of Merced's Planned Parenthood clinic became the target of criminal harassment.
Cathy Bright, services manager with the Merced office of Planned Parenthood, said criminal acts designed to terrorize her took place on a few occasions in August.
"The focus and threat has been directed at me and not toward the patients that access medical care at our center," she said, reading a prepared statement.
Planned Parenthood's proposal to construct a 6,000-square-foot building next to Merced High School has drawn protests from several Christian groups in recent months.
Bright declined to provide details on what happened, saying she doesn't want to jeopardize an ongoing investigation.
But she said the health center in Merced is safe. Security has been heightened at the P Street clinic, including the addition of a security guard and camera.
Calls to the FBI office in Fresno and the Merced Police Department were not returned Tuesday. No arrests have been made in connection with the incidents, according to the Merced County district attorney's office.
Anti-Planned Parenthood groups are distancing themselves from the harassment, saying they do not condone violence.
"That's counter to our purposes," said Carl Gregory with Concerned Citizens Against Planned Parenthood, one of two umbrella organizations opposing Planned Parenthood's Merced expansion. "We are a pro-life organization, we're pro-life all the way."
Gregory said he gave two FBI agents a handwriting sample and a printout from his computer for analysis.
Gregory's organization, along with United For Life of Merced County, have organized several protests since learning about Planned Parenthood's decision to move next to the high school.
Although the organization does not perform abortions in Merced, the groups oppose distribution of contraceptives and other services Planned Parenthood provides for minors. Under state law, minors have the right to birth control and abortions without parental permission.
The groups have collected about 2,000 signatures from residents opposed to the clinic and have filled the City Council chamber with people who share their views.
Earlier this month, City Attorney Greg Diaz released an 18-point report outlining the ways the City Council is limited in its ability to block the proposed clinic without impinging on Planned Parenthood's constitutionally protected property rights.
In the meantime, groups against the clinic have hired their own lawyer, who argued that the council can revoke permits for the clinic.
Alan Unterreiner, president of United For Life of Merced County, said he was visited by the FBI on Sept. 8, the day after protesting outside the Merced clinic.
Since February, his group has protested outside the clinic once a week, handing out antiabortion literature to clients.
Unterreiner said FBI agents told him somebody broke a windshield on a vehicle belonging to a Planned Parenthood worker and scrawled a message on her lawn.
"Whoever is doing it needs to be apprehended," he said. "You don't do stuff like this. You just don't. That's vandalism and that's criminal."
