Planned Parenthood sues church, pastors for holding worship service outside abortion clinic
The nation's largest abortion provider has filed a lawsuit against a church that meets outside one of its clinics in eastern Washington state as a "prophetic statement" against what's going on inside.
Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho is taking legal action against The Church at Planned Parenthood, which regularly worships outside the Spokane clinic, The Spokesman-Review reported earlier this week.
Named as defendants in the suit are state Rep. Matt Shea; Pastors Ken Peters, Gabe Blomgren, and Seth Haberman; Clay Roy, director of TCAPP; along with Covenant Church and Covenant Christian School.
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"Planned Parenthood is not worried about patient care. We have service once a month, in the evening after their business hours. They seek to silence our message," Peters said in an interview with The Christian Post on Thursday.
"They are scared of our prayers and our worship. We aren’t there to bother them, we are there to touch Heaven and be a light to the world. We are there to be a prophetic statement that 'we, the church, don’t approve of killing life inside the womb.'"
The abortion giant hates that message, he said, and is attempting to silence the church.
"Right now they are suing us for psychological damages to their staff and patients after hours. I’m sorry, but they do much more damage to these women and children than our singing," Peters added.
Attorneys for the abortion giant have said that the Christian gatherings, which sometimes draw hundreds of people, interfere with the clinic's operations and have intimidated patients and the clinic staff.
“These are not protesters — they are bullies who are trying to take away care from young women, men, the LGBTQ community and black, indigenous, people of color in Spokane,” Karl Eastlund, chief executive of the regional Planned Parenthood organization, said in a statement.
The lawsuit is seeking damages and a permanent injunction to halt TCAPP from assembling outside the Planned Parenthood office located on E. Indiana Avenue in Spokane.
The Church at Planned Parenthood describes itself on its website as "NOT a protest."
"It’s a worship service at the gates of Hell. The Church at Planned Parenthood is a gathering of Christians for the worship of God and the corporate prayer for repentance for this nation, repentance for the apathetic church, and repentance of our blood-guiltiness in this abortion holocaust," the website adds.
TCAPP has been gathering outside the local Planned Parenthood building to pray and worship since 2018.
Planned Parenthood has maintained that TCAPP's activities violate the city noise ordinance and a state law that prohibits disruptions at healthcare facilities. It also says that local police are refusing to enforce those regulations. Earlier this year, the Spokane City Council voted 6-1 to pass an additional ordinance with the same effect as the state law.
"We are making the temple of Satan angry. This isn’t a political war or an earthly battle. It is spiritual," Peters added.
"The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty. Planned Parenthood is proving that by their response to us. Prayer, praise, giving and preaching the Gospel just works. They can sue God’s people if they wish, but God will avenge us. God sees our heart for His creation. Planned Parenthood isn’t attacking us, they are attacking God."
