Dear President Trump,

We are writing on behalf of a number of individuals convicted of felonies for peacefully attempting to save lives. They stood in the hallways and waiting rooms of abortion clinics, speaking to parents and begging them to choose life for their preborn children. Even though they have not engaged in any kind of violence, many of them are currently serving prison time in federal institutions.

Although trespassing is illegal, rarely is it considered a felony, and never when its purpose is to preserve life. At their trials, the American citizens mentioned above, however, were not permitted to explain the purpose behind their actions. Forbidden from speaking of the preborn or abortion, they had no opportunity to truly defend themselves in court and thus were convicted in “open-and-shut” sham trials. We would like to briefly provide that defense as we ask you to reconsider their sentencing.

The 14th Amendment protects peoples’ God-given right to life. This leads to the question, are the preborn human beings? Science is clear on this issue. As Dr. Jerome Lejeune, the Father of Modern Genetics, put it, “If a fertilized egg is not by itself a full human being it could not become a man, because something would have to be added to it, and we know that does not happen. This is not opinion, this is fact.” As an embryo, a fetus, a toddler, an adolescent, and an adult, each of us has always been a complete human.

Throughout history, a kind of legal reasoning has been used to strip the rights from inconvenient, marginalized groups in society. 1876 British Common Law said, “Women are not persons in matters of rights and privileges.” The Virginia Supreme Court stated in 1858, “The slave is not a person.”

We know these laws were wrong. It is not our sex or our race that defines our value. Neither is it our stage of development, nor our parents’ circumstances. Rather, God has given each human being the same inherent value and right to life. Just as it is your job as President to protect that right, so it is our duty as US citizens, and the neighbors of these voiceless children, to stand up for them and do all in our power to protect them. This includes trespassing in certain situations.

We ask you to reverse the weaponization of the Department of Justice and pardon these individuals, whose only crime was peacefully pleading for the lives of babies about to die. More than this, we beg you to consider the case for the preborn who have been sentenced to death with no trial. They are unseen and unheard, totally dependent on others, and completely vulnerable.

Here are the names and sentences of the above-mentioned pro-life heroes:

Heather Idoni (mother of 15, including 10 adopted from Ukraine): 24 months in prison for praying and singing hymns in a medical complex hallway. At the time, her trespassing charges were dropped.

Cal Zastrow (father of four and grandfather of five): six months for peacefully interposing in Nashville; awaiting sentencing / trial in Michigan and Florida.

Chet Gallagher (retired police officer): soon to serve 16 months for his involvement in Nashville; awaiting sentencing in Michigan.

Steve Lefemine: 60 days for peacefully interposing in Columbia, South Carolina.

The following were given probation and / or house arrest, or are still awaiting sentencing:

Eva Edl (89 yrs old, Holocaust survivor)

Coleman Boyd

Paul Vaughn (father of 11)

Dennis Green

Jim Zastrow

Eva Zastrow

Paul Place

Justin Phillips

Joel Curry

There are many others who have been charged with or convicted of FACE Act violations or conspiracy for their non-violent attempts to block abortion clinic entrances. We request that they all be released with their charges and sentences dropped. The following were put in prison:

Lauren Handy: 57 months

Joan Bell (76 yrs old): 24 months

Will Goodman: 27 months

Rosemary Geraghty: 27 months

Jean Marshall (75 yrs old): 24 months

John Hinshaw (69 yrs old): 21 months

Paulette Harlow: (76 yrs old): 24 months

Bevelyn Williams (mother of a two yr old): 41 months

Christopher Moscinski: six months

Jonathan Darnel: 34 months