Charges Dismissed Against Pro-Life Advocates for Protesting Abortion
Six pro-life activists arrested last year for disrupting operations at a Pennsylvania abortion business during a Red Rose Rescue had all charges against them dismissed on January 12 in a plea deal.
The deal marks a victory for the pro-life advocates who say their nonviolent actions saved unborn babies.
The activists — Joan Andrews Bell, 77, of Montague, New Jersey; William Goodman, 55, originally from Madison, Wisconsin; ChristyAnne Collins, 70, of Texas City, Texas; Monica Miller, 72, of South Lyon, Michigan, who heads Citizens for a Pro-Life Society affiliated with Red Rose Rescues; Patrice Woodworth-Crandall, 61, of Winona, Minnesota; and Eric Holmberg, 71, of Steubenville, Ohio — pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of defiant trespass and disorderly conduct.
In the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, the charges were dismissed with no fines, probation, community service, or other penalties imposed. The outcome allows the activists to have their previously posted bond money returned.
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The protest occurred on August 6, 2025, at the Delaware County Women’s Center in Upland, a facility that kills babies in abortions using mifepristone and misoprostol.
The activists, part of the Red Rose Rescue group, peacefully entered the abortion clinic to offer roses, words of support, alternatives to abortion, and information on abortion pill reversal to women scheduled for abortions.
According to reports from the group, the rescuers informed staff they “cannot leave as long as the unborn are scheduled to be killed.”
Approximately 90 minutes into the action, clinic staff announced they were closing for the day, canceling all remaining abortions.
Eight women had arrived for abortions, but all left without receiving the abortion pills, with four accepting pro-life literature.
The advocates celebrated the shutdown as a victory that provided a reprieve for the unborn children scheduled to be aborted.
Police removed the six activists without incident after they refused to leave.
They were initially held overnight under difficult conditions at George Hill Correctional Facility before being released on reduced bond.
A police report noted that three activists sprinkled holy water and blessed salt on the floor and told a staff member they “would rather burn in hell than leave,” while others distributed roses and resources.
A statement from Goodman provided to OSV News described the court outcome as “a modest victory. But a victory nonetheless.”
The activists, most of whom are Catholic (Collins is evangelical), emphasized their peaceful intent to defend unborn babies and offer compassion to mothers. Bell and Goodman had previously received pardons from President Donald Trump for earlier convictions under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act related to clinic protests.
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