Old North News

What rights have been lost during the pandemic?

Are Americans still free to assemble and speak? Some North Carolina residents are curious about that after the arrests of four abortion protesters in Greensboro on March 28.

Justin Reeder, 34, of Huntersville, Jason Oesterreich, 42, of Locust, Carl Ubinas, 52, of Mooresville, and Isaiah Burner, 23, of Statesville, were cited for violating a Stay At Home order. In addition, Oesterreich, Reeder, and Ubinas were each charged with resisting arrest. All charges are second-class misdemeanors.

Justin Reeder | Love Life

The men, who belong to the pro-life group Love Life, were praying near A Woman’s Choice, an abortion clinic in Greensboro. It has affiliated clinics in Raleigh and Charlotte. Love Life conducts weekly prayer walks in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh and New York City, as well as other cities at times.

Reeder, the founder of Love Life, is based in Charlotte. When he learned the abortion protesters were in a confrontation with police, he came to the Greensboro abortion clinic, along with a lawyer who represents Love Life.

The lawyer, whose identity was not revealed, had called the Greensboro Police Department officer in charge as he and Reeder drove there. But when they arrived, several police officers declined to discuss the ordinance and instead arrested the four men.

The lawyer wanted to make the point that the Love Life protesters were from a religious non-profit (recognized by the federal government) that provides charitable and social services and, pursuant to several provisions of the Guilford County proclamation, as well as the U.S. Constitution, and they were expressly permitted to continue prayer and ministry.

Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the North Carolina Values Coalition, a statewide public policy group that supports the work of Love Life, spoke to Old North News on behalf of Love Life.

“As our country comes together to battle the threat of COVID-19 [coronavirus], Americans are heroically rising to the challenge of social distancing and helping the vulnerable. However, there is one clear outlier — the abortion industry,” Fitzgerald said. “Gov. [Roy] Cooper and Secretary of Health & Human Sciences Mandy Cohen issued a directive two weeks ago asking all hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to cease elective and non-essential procedures and donate the PPE and other supplies to COVID-19 treatment and response.

“Gov. Cooper and Secretary Cohen have taken the position that the directive does not apply to abortion clinics, so they remain open for business. It is painfully obvious that Gov. Cooper and Secretary Cohen consider abortion to be an ‘essential service’ and exempt from all orders and directives that have shut down all other elective and non-essential procedures,” she said.

Fitzgerald said it seems as if there are unfair standards in place.

“The city of Greensboro has no legal grounds to ask mobile ultrasound units to leave, when the abortion clinics they are parked outside remain open,” she said. “If abortion clinics remain open, so should the mobile ultrasound units that surround them, and the Greensboro police have violated the civil liberties of the group operating the mobile ultrasound unit.”

The North Carolina Values Coalition led a group of faith leaders across North Carolina that sent a March 25 letter to Cooper, requesting that he include abortion centers in a directive issued by Cohen requesting hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to suspend all elective and non-urgent procedures and surgeries.

The letter asked Cooper to shut down abortion clinics during the pandemic.

On March 24, the state coalition joined with 50 national organizations writing a letter calling for U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to halt both surgical and chemical abortions in order to free up much-needed medical equipment and decrease the demand placed on emergency rooms due to complications from both medical and surgical abortion. 

“It is irresponsible and dangerous for abortionists to put patients at risk of contracting the virus and to consume masks, gloves and other personal protective equipment in short supply,” Fitzgerald said. “It is also inexcusable that Gov. Cooper continues to allow abortion clinics to remain open for business while all other elective medical procedures have been suspended.”

While the protests will continue, she said North Carolinians will make their views known on Nov. 3.

“We have an election this year. Citizens should turn out in record numbers to remove from office a governor who places abortion above the health and safety of our state and above women,” Fitzgerald said. “Gov. Cooper is beholden to the abortion industry, because abortion groups and their money help him get elected. It’s that simple.

“I believe we are going to see an unprecedented number of lawsuits filed in the coming days and months to redress the violation of civil liberties we are seeing at present,” she said. “Government absolutely has the power to protect the health and safety of its citizens, but in many cases, that power is being used to trample people’s constitutional rights when action taken by the government has no bearing on protecting public health.”

Love Life has advised its members to continue to make their pro-life views known.

On April 4, it posted an advisory on its website: “We will not be gathering in groups at any of the cities this Saturday. We continue to encourage you to exercise your legal rights as an individual to come out and prayer walk as an individual to pray just as if you would if you went to a park. Please do not wear your Love Life shirts if you chose to go. Remember to maintain social distancing and bring your own hand sanitizer. We are asking that no one go to Greensboro for the time being.”

Mark Keith Robinson, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, said the men did nothing wrong.

He said they were standing 6 feet apart and were less than 10 people in a group. The safety regulations do not restrict people from walking or being outside, Robinson said.

“Those young men did not break any rules that the city set forth,” he said. “None. Zero.”

Nor did they violate restrictions on travel, Robinson said, since they belong to a nonprofit organization that is exempt from such a rule.

“They were targeted by our city government because they were out there protesting an abortion business,” he said.

Robinson said the city has tried to deny people their rights before, as in 2018 when it tried to stifle gun rights. 

“Our city council has made horrible political decisions that has put our police in terrible positions before," he said. "We don’t blame the police. This is not their fault. It’s completely egregious, completely unfounded.”

But Robinson said the men will fight against the charges, adding, “We certainly have not heard the end of this. I think we are going to hear more about this.”

Robinson, 51, a retired businessman and conservative social and political commentator, is running for lieutenant governor in his first bid for public office.

He said he decided to run because there are issues that need to be addressed in the state and across the nation. Robinson said he is pro-life, a staunch defender of Second Amendment gun rights, and deeply concerned about education.

“No place better to work on those things than by being an elected official,” he said.

Robinson won the nomination in a crowded GOP primary on March 3, defeating eight other candidates:  Former U.S. Second District Rep. Renee Ellmers; North Carolina Education Supt. Mark Johnson; North Carolina Education Lottery Commissioner Buddy Bengel; former state Sen. Andy Wells; former state Rep. Scott Stone; former Mount Airy Mayor Deborah Cochran; Army veteran and national guardsman Greg Gebhardt; and lawyer John L. Ritter.

Robinson will face Democrat Yvonne Lewis Holley, who finished first in a six-candidate field. State Sen. Terry Van Duyn qualified for a runoff but he declined, giving Holley the nomination.

In North Carolina the governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately. Current Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, a Republican, is running against Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat seeking a second term.