Militant Anti-Abortion Protesters in Durango

Durango Bill’s

A small militant group of abortion protesters has been active in Durango, Colorado. The group is run by “Michaela Dasteel, director of LifeGuard”, and as reported in the March 16, 2007 Durango Herald, their activities include:

“Abortion protesters get ‘rambunctious’”

“Opponents hit car with sign, exchange words to be more vocal”

“Police were called four times on March 14, 2007, about complaints that protesters had harassed clients and trespassed.”
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/07/news070316_2.htm

and on May 10, 2007

“Planned Parenthood seeks safety”

“Protesters vow to continue as fence built to protect clients”

Planned Parenthood is building an 8-foot-tall wooden fence outside its Durango office in reaction to 14 months of weekly anti-abortion protests.

"Our main goal is to protect our clients' safety and privacy," said Lizzy Annison, Planned Parenthood director of public affairs for Colorado and Wyoming. "So with that in mind, we do everything we can to ensure that they have access to the services that they need and can do so in a safe environment."
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/07/news070510_2.htm

The names of other militant protesters included in the article are:

Maggie O’Hare
Jacinta Gott
Leah Kvech
Michelle Kvech

(I can forward complete copies (and/or PrintScreen images) of these pages/articles if they disappear from the Herald’s web site.)

The threatening nature of the harassment has forced the Durango Planned Parenthood to appeal for volunteers to “help patients obtain safe access to Planned Parenthood services”. http://www.wrcdurango.org/MemberNews.htm

Planned Parenthood of Durango needs Volunteer Escorts to monitor protestor activity and help patients obtain safe access to Planned Parenthood services. Training will be provided. For more information, contact Emily Gates, Education Program Manager/Public Affairs Regional Coordinator, 970-375-9558, Emily.Gates@pprm.org.

Freedom of Choice

We all should have a freedom to conduct our lives as we see fit, but this freedom does not extend to fringe/cult groups that try to impose their personal agendas on other people. Yet this is what the local “LifeGuard” group has been doing. (LifeGuard is affiliated with American Life League.) They have been harassing the local Planned Parenthood clinic in Durango for over a year. Their intention is too intimidate patients and staff at the clinic.

Michaela Dasteel’s activities extend to trying to get the local hospital (Mercy Medical Center) to dismiss doctors who disagree with her view. As quoted in an article by Michaela Dasteel as printed at:

http://www.ncbcenter.org/em/0702-1.aspx
and
http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/das/das_01scandal.html

Everywhere one turns in Durango, Dr. G _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is lauded as a high-minded, principled man. A good man. An idealist and seeker of truth. His obstetric and gynecology patients acknowledge his great skill and compassion. He is, in fact, the most dangerous kind of abortionist - one who does it for “moral” reasons.

Dr. G _ _ _ _ _ _ _ performs his work without controversy. To my knowledge, there has been no public protest against his being granted full privileges at Mercy.

Abortionists are protected from dismissal primarily because the law also protects Catholic hospitals from reprisals when they refuse to do abortions and sterilizations. . . . .
The solution to this problem is to challenge the law.

Signed (including E-mail)
Michaela Dasteel
LifeGuard
Durango, Colorado
mbd@frontier.net

Organizations that Michaela Dasteel is active in.

Solt Ministries
http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Dasteel_Michaela_1162708265.aspx
(Web Page includes Michaela’s street address and telephone number)

Michaela Dasteel (Servant Coordinator)
414 East Third Avenue [414 3rd Ave]
Durango, CO 81301
(970) 247-5498 or 385-6744
email: mbd@frontier.net
and the URL for Solt Ministries: http://www.solt.org/groups.html

Diocese of Pueblo

http://www.dioceseofpueblo.com/pastorallife/familylife.htm
Photo of Michaela at St. Columba Catholic Church in Durango:
http://www.dioceseofpueblochronicle.com/PDF/Dec06/Dec%2006%20page%209.pdf

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