PONTIAC, Michigan (LifeSiteNews) — A Red Rose Rescuer has been released from jail after 34 days, a sentence dealt by a judge after the pro-lifer participated in a counseling effort to save unborn babies from abortion.
Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, was released from her 45-day sentence early Friday morning. Her stay was Judge Cynthia Arvant’s response to a 2022 rescue which took place at a Northland Family Planning abortion facility in Michigan.
A Red Rose Rescue is a form of pro-life activism in which volunteers enter the waiting room of abortion centers, offering red roses and life-affirming alternatives to women planning to kill their unborn babies. The rescues often result in arrest and charges of trespassing, which are accepted by volunteers in an act of solidarity with the unborn.
“Some may think that time in jail is simply a suffering that one must endure,” Miller wrote in a statement following her release. “But the fact is, for a pro-lifer in jail — we continue our witness to the unborn we tried to save — a continuing witness to the sanctity of life in this culture of death.”
“Indeed, when our fellow inmates know why we are in jail — we receive much respect and support!”
Miller shared the many ways in which she, along with her fellow pro-lifers in jail, were able to continue their mission behind bars, including opportunities to counsel pregnant and post-abortive women and praying the rosary with other inmates.
“The jail time was filled with so many blessings — God was working in cell block F 1. We met two women who told us that they had actually given life to their children because of pro-life sidewalk counselors who talked them out of their scheduled abortions at local Detroit-area abortion centers,” she said.
UPDATE (3/30/23): Fr. Fidelis is jailed along with another pro-life hero
Father Fidelis has been sentenced to 270 days in jail by a Michigan court, while fellow Red Rose rescuer Matthew Connolly was sentenced to 90 days in jail and told to pay fines.
The CFR priest will serve his sentence (90 days per 3 charges) concurrently, so he will be behind bars for 3 months.
Like their companions Elizabeth Wagi and Jacob Gregor, who received lighter penalties, Moscinski and Connolly were pronounced guilty of “trespassing, resisting arrest, and disturbing the peace/interfering with a business” on February 24, 2023 at the 46th District Courthouse in Southfield, Michigan.
Wagi received 18 months’ probation with fines and was ordered not to go anywhere near an abortion facility or her co-defendants. Gregor got 12 months’ probation with fines and 10 days community service. He was told not to speak to convicted church members.
LifeSiteNews is still awaiting news of Dr. Monica Miller and Laura Gies, who were found guilty of trespassing and resisting arrest.
The Southfield trial stemmed from a Red Rose Rescue at the Northland Family Planning abortion center, one of three abortion centers owned and operated by Renee Chelian, on April 23, 2021.
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UPDATE (1/24/23):
Pro-life priest and Red Rose Rescuer Fr. Fidelis Moscinski has been found guilty of violating the Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
Yesterday Fr. Fidelis was convicted of the federal crime for a July 2022 “lock and block” rescue he conducted at a Planned Parenthood in Hempstead, New York. The priest is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24 and faces up to six months in federal prison.
Sign the petition to let Fr. Fidelis know you support him and are praying for him.
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UPDATE (10/26/22):
A Pennsylvania court issued a split ruling against a pro-life Franciscan priest and activist arrested after he entered an abortion clinic to help women choose life.
Father Christopher “Fidelis” Moscinski was found guilty of two misdemeanor charges and not guilty of a felony trespass and a misdemeanor resist, for participating in a Red Rose Rescue at a Planned Parenthood.
Fr. Moscinski entered the clinic on August 27, 2021 with red roses and pro-life literature ready to hand out to women and persuading them to choose life for their children.
Fr. Fidelis has participated in many Red Rose Rescues at abortion centers, and for this has been imprisoned multiple times.
He was also previously arrested for trying to save babies in Ohio in June 2021 and in New Jersey in January 2020.
After the court decision, Fr. Fidelis urged people to “continue keeping all pro-lifers anywhere who are facing charges, especially federal charges, in your prayers, and that God can bring some good out of this unjust persecution.”
Sign this petition today to let Fr. Fidelis know you stand with him and his heroic fight to save unborn lives from abortion.
Fellow pro-life activist and Red Rose Rescuer Will Goodman told LifeSite’s Jim Hale that the court’s ruling to drop one felony and reject another was a “big victory.”But the crackdown on pro-lifers continues!
Just recently the Biden administration targeted Fr. Fidelis and other pro-life activists for Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) violation charges.
This same law was also used by the FBI to raid the home of pro-life Catholic dad Mark Houck last month.
It’s really a disgrace that in America pro-lifers are increasingly being attacked and persecuted simply because they stand for life.
Fr. Fidelis Moscinski needs your prayers and support now more than ever as he continues to fearlessly battle for the unborn.
SIGN THIS PETITION TODAY to tell Fr. Fidelis you stand with him and his courageous fight!
MORE INFORMATION:
‘Big victory’: Felonies tossed in split verdict for priest attempting rescue of unborn
BREAKING NEWS: Father Fidelis Legal Verdict reaction LIVE by Legal team
FBI charges pro-life priest with violating abortion access law one week after Mark Houck raid
Laura Gies, another Red Rose Rescuer serving a prison sentence alongside Miller, was able to speak with her cell mate — who had previously chosen life thanks to local sidewalk counselors — and convince her to do the same for another baby she was carrying. Miller requested that pro-lifers pray for this woman, named Moneisha.
She also thanked “the very many people who supported me in my jail time,” expressing gratitude for “many letters and emails and so many prayers and Masses [which] were offered.”
Last week, Miller also wrote an open letter to pro-lifers, encouraging them to continue their work to defend the unborn and outlining the case which led her to prison.
“During our trial, we were denied a ‘defense of others’ — as the unborn are not considered others by the legal system tied to the culture of death. Judge Arvant paid homage to the lie of positive law — that no harm occurs when the unborn are mercilessly executed — and so the unborn remain legally hidden from the jury,” she wrote.
According to the letter, the four pro-lifers dealt sentences for the 2022 rescue were given “a probation condition to stay 500 feet from every abortion center in the country for 18 months.”
“My plea to you,” Miller wrote to pro-lifers. “Please pray for the courage of your own pro-life commitment! Consider doing even ONE Red Rose Rescue! Do not fear the sacrifices. Radical acts of evil require our radical acts of love — and those sacrifices join us to the cross of Christ — the cross by which the world is saved!”
Three other volunteers arrested for the same Red Rose Rescue remain in Oakland County Jail. Laura Gies will be released on May 18, Matthew Connolly on June 6, and Father Fidelis Moscinski on June 12.
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