Both have the same mission, saying they want to save the lives of the unborn.
But the staff at Waterleaf Women’s Center in Aurora has a different way of going about that quest than a group of “sidewalk counselors” who stand on their property and try to convince women going into the Planned Parenthood center next door on East New York Street that they are making a big mistake.
The purpose of the Catholic-based Waterleaf is to help women with unplanned pregnancies by presenting “a “message of health and hope,” insists Executive Director Julie Garofalo. But the anti-abortion protestors that show up with signs containing graphic images and bullhorns blasting “unkind” and “judgmental” views are only hurting the cause, she believes.
Waterleaf’s focus is offering options to abortion by partnering with dozens of community groups that can help pregnant women with everything from counseling to housing to daycare to maternal and legal needs, officials with the center said. But you can’t provide this help if you can’t get the women through the doors, she insists.
“We work with women all day long. We know how they are feeling. Using amplification and graphic images … is no way to treat a woman, especially those who are already in crisis.”
This tussle has been going on since Waterleaf built its new facility next to Planned Parenthood in Aurora in November of 2019. But it’s been coming to a head over the summer when Waterleaf began informing those conducting prayer vigils or sidewalk counseling on its property at the corner of Oakhurst and New York Street they must go through mandatory training and credentialing that includes abiding by their rules.
As of Friday, those who do not adhere to these guidelines and other changes will be asked to leave Waterleaf property, she said, adding that the Aurora Police Department is working with Waterleaf to make sure the rules are followed.
“We don’t want to cause additional issues,” she said. “We’ve tried politely to tell them no graphic signs, no bullhorns or microphones but they don’t seem to want to listen.”
Tim Padilla doesn’t quite see it that way.
The Aurora man maintains that this group, which he describes as between 12 to 20 mostly men and loosely tied to Abolish Human Abortion, do not use methods that are judgmental, nor do they try to degrade the women or engage in name calling.
“We say things like, ‘your baby loves you; your baby will feel the pain of the abortion; adoption is an option. There is help across the street,'” says Padilla, who describes himself as the most vocal of this group that has been gathering outside Planned Parenthood in Aurora since 2015.
Plus, their method works time and again, he insists, or he and other members would not “feel the joy of knowing we are saving the lives of babies.”
While Padilla doesn’t deny this approach is more aggressive, “We are the boots on the ground, the voice for the voiceless, we are out there to to save those babies,” he says. “We are the last-ditch effort to get them on the outside to change their mind.”
While Padilla points to a federal lawsuit against the city of Aurora that was settled in 2010 giving protestors the right to be outside Planned Parenthood, Eric Scheidler, executive director of Pro-Life Action League and head of Fox Valley Families Against Planned Parenthood, says this “abolitionist abortion group” is standing on the wrong side of the street – and the law.
For one thing, the agreement that was reached with Aurora pertains only to Fox Valley Families Against Planned Parenthood, of which they are not members, he argues. And that settlement, while recognizing the right to protest outside Planned Parenthood, sets up guidelines as to how, when and where protests are allowed, he said.
The “where” seems to be the sticking point.
Padilla and his group claim the area between the two facilities is a public right of way, and that to deny them access is infringing upon their First Amendment rights. And if authorities ask them to leave on Friday, he told me, “we all have a copy of the lawsuit agreement on our phones that shows the easement and clearly states no sidewalk counselors will be arrested if standing in that area.”
But Scheidler insists these protestors are “reading into it what they want,” and that the settlement language gives the property owners, which clearly is Waterleaf, the right to remove them as trespassers if their rules are not followed.
Garofalo says Waterleaf has worked successfully with all other groups regarding their use of this area, including last weekend’s large prayer group that respectfully followed all new guidelines.
Changes, which were implemented by Waterleaf and Fox Valley Families Against Planned Parenthood in consultation with Thomas More Society attorneys, include a designated garden for those offering prayer support or participating in the upcoming “40 Days for Life” campaign; a specified area for sidewalk counselors to stand; standardized literature and signage; and badges issued to those who complete the one-hour training and are certified to minister on the Waterleaf property.
“This is not geared at one individual or group … they are welcome to come to training,” says Garofalo. “Our team is very extensively trained in how to work with abortion-minded women … We have taken a lot of time and research with attorneys, the city’s legal department and the APD so everyone conducts themselves in a prayerful manner.
“We are trying to keep the area peaceful and non-threatening. We want it to be a place that shows we are here to help … we want to keep everyone safe,” she said.
dcrosby@tribpub.com
