Though often under-reported in the mainstream media, pro-life advocates who protest outside of abortion centers often are targets of harassment and sometimes violence.
On Wednesday in Arizona, pro-life protesters were targeted by a man and his two teenage children in a drive-by incident, according to 12 News in Phoenix.
Police arrested 34-year-old David Turner after he allegedly had his 14-year-old daughter use a squirt gun to spray tomato juice from his car onto pro-lifers standing outside a Tempe Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, the report states.
According to authorities, the father bought a water gun and tomato juice on Wednesday morning and then drove to Planned Parenthood with his 14-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son. An unnamed friend also was in the car, according to police.
Police said they tracked down Turner based on the license plate number that pro-lifers saw on his vehicle. Authorities reported finding the water gun and tomato juice in Turner’s home.
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“It sounds like this was just a prank he was doing, we don’t know if he was trying to make a political statement or statement against the protesters,” said Lt. Michael Pooley with the Tempe Police Department.
Pro-life advocates told ABC 15 that they originally thought the liquid was fecal matter. Galye Peters, one of the pro-life advocates, said the teen pointed the squirt gun at her and laughed.
Turner was arrested and is charged with disorderly conduct and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the report states. News reports indicate that his teenage daughter also faces charges for misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct and his son faces charges of disorderly conduct in juvenile court.
Abortion advocates often try to portray themselves as victims by talking to the media about abortion clinic violence; however, pro-lifers are often targets of violence by the abortion industry and its supporters. In September 2015, police arrested a man after he pulled a gun on a pro-life protester outside of an abortion clinic in Aurora, Illinois, LifeNews reported.
The harassment and violence has not stopped dedicated pro-life groups from continuing to stand outside abortion clinics daily and offer women and their babies an escape from the violence of abortion.
