Abortionist pays to avoid assault trial

Abortionist pays to avoid assault trial
Civil case says he tried to hit man with car, 'escort' attacked child

An abortionist and his Granite City, Ill., clinic have paid an undisclosed settlement to a family that runs a pro-life ministry to avoid a civil trial for damages from his attempt to run down the father as well as an assault by a clinic "escort" on a child.

The settlement this week comes from Hope Clinic and its chief abortionist, Yogendra Shah, and was being paid to Daniel, Angela and Arielle Michael, their Small Victories ministry confirmed.

With their lawyers, Tom Brejcha of the of Chicago's Thomas More Society and Jason Craddock of Chicago, the family appeared before Judge David Hylla for the settlement conference with Mark Levy, a lawyer for the abortion business, and Sally Burgess, a director for the abortion business.

"After several hours of mediation, the Hope Clinic along with chief abortionist Yogendra Shah agreed to pay an undisclosed settlement amount to the Michael family, to avoid going to trial," the ministry announcement said.

The case dates back seven years to November of 2000, when then 9-year-old Arielle Michael was assaulted by a Hope Clinic escort, the ministry said. "This is the same case where Hope Clinic security guard Selma Owens assaulted Daniel Michael and was found guilty," the ministry said.

Also included were claims stemming from an incident when Shah attempted to run over Daniel Michael with his vehicle, an incident that was captured on videotape, ministry officials said.

The Michael family's ministry has operated for years in opposition to the abortion business in Granite City. Angela Michael told WND the abortion business is huge, and draws its customers from dozens of other states, because while many states have parental notification laws, Illinois does not. That means a rapist can bring an underage victim to Granite City and pay for an abortion, eliminating evidence of his assault.

In fact, as WND has reported, that's exactly what police in Bryant, Ark., alleged in an earlier case.

Det. Jimmy Long was working on a case in which an underage girl claimed a 41-year-old man sexually assaulted her, then took her to Granite City for a forced abortion. Long contacted Small Victories, which has been protesting in front of the abortion business for years, and routinely photographs those going in an out of the business.

The pro-life group was able to provide photographs of the suspect's car, with an identifiable license plate number, at the abortion business at the time the girl claimed she was taken there.

The settlement was the third major victory for the ministry in just a few weeks. Granite city recently lost a long-running federal court battle to ban the pro-lifers from appearing with their anti-abortion posters at local parades, an effort Angela Michael told WND is valuable because it is one of few opportunities of reaching many of the region's politicians.

Then a short time later, a newspaper in the greater St. Louis area announced a call for officials in Granite City to cancel their war against pro-life protesters from Small Victories.

The editorial board from the nearby Belleville, Ill., News-Democrat ridiculed Granite City's opposition to the pro-lifer protesters with this headline: "Unwelcomed in Granite City."

"They should put up a new sign at the entrance to Granite City: 'Welcome (unless you're a hooker or her John, homeless, a redneck with a couch on your porch or an anti-abortion protester).'"

The editorial focused on Granite City efforts to improve its image, through street renovations as well as crackdowns on prostitution and the homeless – and the pro-life protesters.

"We hope," said the editorial, "the efforts to stop the Small Victories anti-abortion group from protesting during city parades is at an end. … While we don't like their tactic of showing grisly [abortion] images during parades as a way to opposing the abortion clinic in Granite City, we certainly defend their constitutional rights to peacefully assemble and make their point."

The city's earlier proposed ordinance, "Ordinance Regulating the Location or Size of Signs During Certain Parades" was struck down by U.S. District Judge William Stiehl, who ruled although it "appear[ed] content-neutral on its face," the ordinance was not "narrowly tailored and amounted to a 'heckler's veto.'"

The city had proposed limiting the pro-lifers to carrying signs no larger than 8½ inches by 11 inches. "There is no valid argument that an 8½ by 11 inch sign is the least restrictive alternative available to meet the goals of free pedestrian traffic, unobstructed views by parade goers and public safety," Stiehl concluded.

Brejcha said that ruling doesn't end the Small Victories case against the city, however, because the Michaels have alleged the city's actions during a November 2005 Christmas parade "amounted to a restriction of [their] First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and religion because [city officials] withheld police protection … and threatened to charge [the Michaels] with assault."