Satanic Temple Joins in Planned Parenthood Demonstration… (video)

Satanic Temple Joins in Planned Parenthood Demonstration, Sent Away by Police
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Aug. 24, 2015)
A video has surfaced from Saturday’s protests against Planned Parenthood showing a theatrical protest performance by Detroit Satanic Temple actors being broken up by Ferndale Police.  The video was made by the organization.

The Aug. 22 protest was part of #PPSellsBabyParts National Day of Protest, centered around a video that was released last month by Center for Medical Progress. The video shows heavily edited footage they obtained with people from Stem Express and Planned Parenthood talking about the costs associated with obtaining aborted human tissue for stem cell research. Stem Express is a company that Planned Parenthood works with in states where aborted tissue can be donated for research. The video has footage in a lab area of StemExpress where fetal tissue can be seen. The video has been widely critiqued. Factcheck.org published “Unspinning the Planned Parenthood Video,” that breaks down the laws governing tissue donations and other aspects of the video people may be confused by. Another organization that provided solid context is MediaMatters.org, whose “Seven Things Media Should Know About the Third Undercover Attempt to Smear Planned Parenthood” provides context. Snopes.com also took the video on.
Protests happened all over the county as part of a coordinated effort by groups that want to de-fund the organization. In Ferndale, people showed up to protest the protesters, with dozens of people through the morning coming with signs of their own in support of the healthcare clinic. Ferndale’s Planned Parenthood office provides healthcare for women including PAP smears, STD treatment and prevention, cancer screenings, contraception and other reproductive medical needs.
One of the groups that joined in the counter protest was the Detroit Satanic Temple. A handful of folks in Satanic-themed outfits stood on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood reciting a prayer. Two men in clergy attire poured milk over two women who knelt on the sidewalk with their hands bound. Symbolic of a woman trapped by lack of medical access and drowning emotionally in the changes one’s body is put through in an unwanted pregnancy, such as the production of milk, the display drew claps and cheers from protesters on both sides of the reproductive rights issue.  The group described it later on their website, stating “Their bodies callously veiled by the maternal bath. An American flag furnished with a symbol of The Satanic Temple framed the scene, followed by a message: “AMERICA IS NOT A THEOCRACY. END FORCED MOTHERHOOD.”
However, Ferndale Police were not as welcoming of the show.   Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins came to the protest wearing his civilian clothes and with his pistol in plain view on his hip. The bright yellow color of his shirt reminded people of shirts often worn by open carry  advocates, and caused some concern. The back of the shirt said “We Bleed Brown and Gold,” a reference to the local high school, whose colors are brown and gold.  Video shows Chief Collins trying to grab a milk jug away from one of the men. Uniformed officers arrived within minutes and told the Satanists to leave.
The Satanic Temple members left when uniformed officers asked.  They released a statement on their website about why they were there. “The Satanic Temple strongly opposes the promotion of misinformation and believes that all people are entitled to make informed decisions about their health, family and future without coercion. We will not remain voiceless when the philosophical and religious opinions of those in power are utilized to legislate morality. The attempt to do so violates American foundational values of freedom and liberty.”
Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter responded to concern over the incident, stating on Facebook  “Chief Collins was off duty at home (and therefore out of uniform) when I asked him to look into the fact the protesters were in the median of Woodward, which is generally not allowed by us or MDOT for safety reasons. He stopped by (as I did near the end) to ask them to move off the median, not our of any desire to restrict folks right to protest.”
UPDATE:  Chief Collins responded to questions about the incident.  He stated that he’d been called by the Mayor about the protest although it was his day off.  “I was called by the Mayor at home and responded to the scene, knowing the permit was going to expire in less than 45 mins.  No time to change.”
“Their permit expired at 11:00 and it was 11:05, it had nothing to do with the milk per se, just that the protest permit was expired,” Chief Collins said. “I was asked who I was and I informed them. It was an unusual situation, however I identified myself as the Chief of Police when asked. The reason no enforcement action was taken at the time is because I elected to wait for the uniformed officer to return, and by that time the milk thing was nearly done. I felt that it was better to get them on their way as opposed to giving them more notoriety of an arrest or citation.”
In terms of the concern over his appearance and gun, Collins added “By the way, a person with an exposed firearm is legal, police officer or otherwise.”
For more on the protest, check out our previous story at https://oaklandcounty115.com/2015/08/22/protesters-meet-protesters-at-planned-parenthood-in-ferndale/.
Note: this story is being updated as more information is coming in and has been updated a few times since first posting. 

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