MELBOURNE, FLORIDA ABORTION LAWSUITS

ABORTION INDUSTRY IN MELBOURNE, FLORIDA
LAWSUITS

MELBOURNE, FLORIDA ABORTION LAWSUITS

The 6 ongoing federal lawsuits related to the abortion industry in Melbourne are:
Roe v. Aware Woman Filed 7/9/99. Abortion patient sues Aware Woman under FACE for forcibly holding her on the table against her will thus preventing her egress (a FACE violation) from a FACE "facility." [Middle District of Florida, Orlando Div.]
Raney v. City of Melbourne, FL Filed 4/7/99. A pro-life counselor sues City of Melbourne for 4,000 violations of FACE for "attempting to intimidate" (a FACE violation) him 4,000 times in a FACE "facility." [Middle District of Florida, Orlando Div.]
Manhattan Magnolia Corp. v. Unterburger Filed 3/2/99. Parent corporation of Melbourne abortion clinic sues pro-lifers (many who are from Melbourne) and on-line information providers (CompuServe and TML Information Services) under the Civil Rights Acts, FACE, FDPPA, and the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Act. [Southern District of Florida, W. Palm Beach Div.]
Aware Woman v. Raney Filed 1/4/99. Abortion clinic sues pro-lifers and on-line information providers (AOL, CompuServe, and TML Information Services) under the Civil Rights Acts, FACE, and FDPPA. [Middle District of Florida, Orlando Div.]
Ocala Women's Center v. City of Ocala Filed 12/10/98. Ocala abortion clinic and abortionist sue city and county governments and pro-lifers (one from Melbourne) under the Civil Rights Acts, FACE, and Federal Drivers' Privacy Protection Act (FDPPA). [Middle District of Florida, Ocala Div.]
Raney v. Aware Woman Filed 10/1/97. Pro-life counselor sues abortion clinic for violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) law. [Middle District of Florida, Orlando Div.]

Following is a chronological list of other abortion related legal activity in and around Melbourne, Florida leading up to the above 6 lawsuits.

Madsen v. Woman's Health Center, Inc. 114 S.Ct. 2516 (1994). Pro-life counselor Judy Madsen sued over the 36-foot buffer zone injunction at Aware Woman abortion clinic in Melbourne, Florida. This Madsen injunction was upheld by the Supreme Court as to named parties, but judgment was withheld as to unnamed parties because no unnamed party was a plaintiff in Madsen.

McKusick v. City of Melbourne, 96 F. 3d 478 (11 Cir. 1996). Former Aware Woman abortion patient Linda McKusick sued the city of Melbourne for injunctive relief after she was threatened with arrest while she was silently reading her Bible, praying and grieving over the loss of her unborn child killed by abortion there at Aware Woman some months before. She was on the public property that makes up the Madsen 36-foot buffer zone. Mrs. McKusick was not named on the injunction that created the Madsen 36-foot buffer zone. Mrs. McKusick was not given any relief in this case, but the Court virtually promised vindication if she were ever wrongfully arrested or punished under the same or similar circumstances.

OTHER LAWSUITS OF INTEREST

Lotierzo v. A Woman's World Medical Center Filed 07/19/00. A Martin County priest and teacher have asked a federal judge to prevent a local abortion clinic from interfering with their efforts to counsel patients on the sidewalk. They are also seeking damages from A Woman's World Medical Center, an abortion clinic at 503 S. 12th St. in Fort Pierce. The Rev. Thomas Euteneuer of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Indiantown and Anne Lotierzo, a teacher at Hope Rural School in Indiantown, claim that clinic workers used physical force and even death threats in an effort to scare them away.

USA v. Pendergraft Filed 06/13/00. The USA indicted abortionist JAMES SCOTT PENDERGRAFT and MICHAEL SPIELVOGEL on (5) five federal counts:
(1) 18:371.F CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE UNITED STATES
(2) 18:1951.F INTERFERENCE WITH COMMERCE BY THREAT OR VIOLENCE
(3) 18:1341.F FRAUDS AND SWINDLES
(4) 18:1623.F FALSE DECLARATIONS BEFORE GRAND JURY/COURT
(5) 18:1001.F STATEMENTS OR ENTRIES GENERALLY

Sienkiewicz v. Hart Filed 2/7/00. FACE-protected referral counselor Ray Sienkiewicz sues several people under civil FACE for interfering with his counseling at the abortion facility at 3900 Broadway in Ft. Myers, Florida. These people include an abortion clinic worker, the Ft. Myers chief of police, a U. S. Attorney (now an 11th circuit appellate judge), the Attorney General of the U. S., and the President of the U. S.

Smith v. McDougall Filed 7/28/99. Pro-life Sheriff McDougall is pressured to stop the sidewalk counseling occurring at a Ft. Meyers abortion clinic and gets sued under FACE when he succumbs to the pressure. [Middle District of Florida, Ft. Meyers Div.]