In the late 1980s and early 1990s, large sit ins or “rescues” at abortion clinics were common. Pro-life activists would stage a sit in in front of an abortion clinic’s doors, hoping to dissuade women from going in to have abortions. These activists would usually be arrested for trespassing. These protests are a thing of the past, in part because the pro-life movement has evolved into new tactics, in part because the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Laws) have made it a felony to block access to an abortion clinic.
The vast majority of pro-life activists engaged in civil disobedience were nonviolent. In fact, they were often the victims of violent police tactics. In this quote, one observer who was not part of the movement describes the sit ins.
“Such large sit ins usually generated a tense emotional atmosphere. Knowing friends were in imminent danger of being arrested and manhandled, seeing them handcuffed and (at times) dragged like sacks of potatoes, or lifted in a pain inducing manner, generated much emotion regardless of the number of friends involved.… At times, during large events, I saw police arrest picketers who had no intention of sitting in, who either had not actually stepped on forbidden territory or had done so inadvertently…. During large events arrests of obvious violators sometimes entailed unnecessary roughness. For example, one time I watched as police tossed a handcuffed septuagenarian priest head over heels in the cartwheel despite his obvious frailty; a young female activist recounted being lifted painfully by her long hair. Many activists recalled the times police beat non-resisting male activists.”
Carol JC Maxwell. Pro-Life Activists in America: Meaning Motivation and Direct Action. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002) 66 – 67
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