From: Ian Hebert                            Posted: 21 Sep 94  20:49
To  : All
Subj: State Trooper & Abortion

I heard something this evening on CBC Radio's "As It Happens," which
really flabbergasted me.

As their first story of the evening, they spoke to the attorney for an
unnamed couple who were stopped by a Washington State trooper for
speeding.  As it turned out, the couple was on their way for a medical
appointment--she was pregnant, and had an abortion scheduled for that
afternoon.

After they were pulled over, they told the trooper (unwisely as it turns
out) where they were going and why.  He then announced that he was a
fundamentalist Christian, and that he viewed abortion as the murder of a
child.  He proceeded to harangue and browbeat the woman for over a
half-hour on the side of the road on a hot July day.  He tried to
dissuade her from going through with the abortion, mentioning that there
were people in his church who would be glad to adopt the child; they
would help the couple with any expenses, etc.

As if this wasn't bad enough, he stated that he thought she needed
counseling, and he tried to persuade her and her husband to accompany
him to a fundamentalist Christian camp of some sort run by his Church.

As an inducement, he offered to fix the ticket, reducing the speed on
the ticket from 75 mph to 65 mph, with a resultant decrease in the fine
from approximately $140 to $65.  He also implied that, if she did not go
through with the abortion, he would arrange to cancel the ticket
altogether.

Needless to say, the husband felt that the trooper's behaviour was
becoming more and more bizarre, and he decided they had both better
accompany the trooper to this camp.  His attorney stated that the
husband felt that the trooper was out of control, and feared that
non-compliance would jeopardize the safety of both himself and his wife.

When they arrived at this camp, they were ushered into a small
windowless basement room, where they awaited the arrival of this
'counselor.'  After some 15 minutes, the counselor arrived, and the
couple went through another long harangue during which the 'counselor'
tried to dissuade the woman from going through with her abortion.

The couple's attorney stated that they told him that they felt as if
they were being held prisoner, particularly given the presence of the
state trooper.  He stated that they asked for, and were allowed, *one*
telephone call, and further stated that this was yet another indication
to them that they were being held prisoner.

The telephone call the husband made was to Planned Parenthood, advising
them that he and his wife would be delayed, and not to close the clinic
before their arrival.  After some delay, they were eventually released,
and proceeded to the clinic, where the woman did indeed have her
abortion that afternoon, as she had originally planned.

The couple's attorney said that he viewed this incident as an abduction
or kidnapping, adding that he also considered it as false imprisonment.
He stated that the trooper in question was clearly guilty of one or more
felonies.

According to their attorney, the FBI have now entered the picture, and
are investigating the Washington State Troopers.  The trooper involved
has been reassigned to desk duties in the interim.

Ian Hebert

London, Ontario, Canada        RIME: HOMEBASE           Fido: 1:2401/114
Internet: ian.hebert@homebase.com    PGP Key: 1024 / 077A2F7F 1993/02/11
PGP Key Fingerprint:   A2 15 DE 22 DA FE D4 DC   0F 17 43 24 1F F2 1E 7B