Protesters take advantage of right to assemble

By Scarlett Heydt
Voices Editor

Carol Canfield, a member of the Church of the Good Shepard, can be found every Thursday morning protesting outside of Planned Parenthood, no matter what the weather. Thursday is the day Planned Parenthood performs abortions. Canfield feels very strongly about her pro-life cause. She says that her church believes that performing abortions should be illegal.

"I believe in freedom of speech, freedom of assembly," Canfield said. "As long as we’re not trespassing or breaking civil laws, we have a right to be down there on public property and protest there."

Canfield’s group carries a variety of signs, which say things such as "Planned Parenthood Kills Babies" and have photos of aborted fetuses. The largest sign is four feet by six feet and depicts a person who died in the Holocaust, an African American hanging from a tree and an aborted fetus. Canfield also uses a megaphone while protesting.

Using this and holding the signs are within Canfield’s rights, she said. After protesting so many times, she and the other protesters have learned what they can and can’t do. However, there have been minor disputes over certain things. For instance, there’s a city ordinance against putting signs in the ground even while protesters are present. The city ordinance states that signs are not supposed to be in the ground on public property, including the signs that are often put in the ground for elections.

Protesters like Canfield made the mistake of putting signs in the ground before they were informed that wasn’t allowed. David Taltott, also a member of the Church of the Good Shepard and a fellow protester of Canfield’s, believes that the things the group does are for the greater good.

"We’re making use of the rights. We’re trying to show people what abortion really is and how it’s a problem," Taltott said. The group also takes videos of their protests so there is always evidence of what they’re doing. Canfield said this is to prove that they are not violating any laws.

"We’re allowed to take video, even though Planned Parenthood said we’re not. If someone asks us to stop filming, we have to stop, but only if they ask us at the time," Canfield said.

Planned Parenthood tries to strictly enforce the laws for protesting. Every Thursday, off-duty sheriffs are there to make sure the protesters comply with the assembly laws. Taltott tries to be accepting of Planned Parenthood’s views.

"People who have opposing viewpoints have just as much right to discuss as we do," Taltott said. "They just have to follow the same rules we do."

Protesters Carol Canfield and David Taltott stand at the corner of Indiana Avenue and Kirkwood Avenue protesting abortions. Canfield also protests every Thursday outside the Bloomington branch of Planned Parenthood.
Photo by Naama Levy