PORTLAND, Maine — A lawsuit filed this week against an anti-abortion protester for yelling too loudly outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in Portland did little to quell the tension Friday on Congress Street.
Approximately 15 protesters gathered outside the clinic — as they have nearly every Friday for at least three years — on Friday afternoon, drawing a response from the Portland Police Department. One man, who wouldn’t identify himself, spent at least two hours loudly delivering what he called a “bible study” and questioning women walking by and into the clinic.
“Young lady,” he called out to a woman heading into the building, which includes Planned Parenthood and other organizations. “If you’re going in for an abortion, you do not have to do that. We will help you.”
None of the protesters would speak to the media. One of them said they had been advised not to by the Thomas More Law Center, which is defending Brian Ingalls of Lisbon against a suit filed this week by Maine Attorney General Janet Mills.
The suit, filed in Cumberland County Superior Court, alleges that in October, Ingalls violated the Maine Civil Rights Act by yelling outside the clinic and interfering with patients’ rights to receive health care without interference.
“If you are the media, we love you but we are not going to talk to you, so don’t ask us any questions,” said the man leading Friday’s protest.
Nicole Clegg, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said her organization called the police to complain about the protests, which Clegg said could be heard inside the clinic.
“The protesters had left before anything could be evaluated,” said Clegg later in the day.
Portland city spokeswoman Jessica Grondin said officers did respond to the complaint but found that the noise level reached by the protesters did not meet the threshold for a noise violation.
Planned Parenthood, the city and the protesters have been tangling for years. The city implemented a 39-foot buffer zone around the clinic in 2013 but that ordinance was repealed after being challenged in U.S. District Court and a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision against a similar buffer zone in Massachusetts.
Last month, the city of Portland was ordered to pay $56,500 to the five plaintiffs in the case against Portland to cover their legal fees.
Clegg said the suit brought this week by Mills is the next step in the legal battle to protect the rights of the clinic’s patients. The suit demands that Ingalls stop protesting at Planned Parenthood and that he pay a $5,000 civil penalty and attorney’s fees. Ingalls, who has declined to comment to the Bangor Daily News, was not present on Friday
Simon Thorpe of Limington was among the protesters, though one of them said “don’t lump us in with him.” Thorpe said he often protests in Portland on Fridays as well as in other cities when he is traveling. He said he doesn’t agree with the loud tactics being employed by one of the protesters on Friday.
“When a woman is facing a difficult choice like this, I don’t think she needs someone in her face about it,” said Thorpe.
Most of the protesters present on Friday made no effort to engage with passers-by and simply lined both sides of the sidewalk, holding signs that read “We will adopt your baby,” “Planned Parenthood sees profits. We see a life” and “Babies are being murdered here right now. Please pray.”
Clegg emphasized that the majority of the services offered by Planned Parenthood are not abortions but rather birth control and testing services. The organization has a team of volunteers who post themselves on the sidewalks to usher patients into the clinic.
“You have protesters who are mindful of the law and others who are not,” said Clegg.
“Our priority is to make sure our patients have access to health care.”
