Anti-Abortion Group Faces Legal Action For Interfering With Patients

NEW YORK CITY – The court battle continues between New York Attorney General Letitia James and anti-abortion group Red Rose Rescue.

James’s office sued Red Rose Rescue and its members in June 2023, accusing the group of “coordinated and repeated illegal conduct, ranging from criminal trespass to barricading clinic entrances in order to block access to abortion services in New York,” a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), a federal law designed to safeguard access to reproductive health care facilities in the United States.

In December 2023, James secured a preliminary injunction barring the group from physically obstructing access to reproductive health services, establishing a buffer zone around clinics, and imposing penalties for future violations.

But despite this “clear and unambiguous” injunction, the group has continued its activity, according to the complaint, targeting facilities that provide reproductive health care, including abortion services, in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Brianna Mangat

On Aug. 27, James went back to court, requesting that Red Rose Rescue and its members be held in contempt for violating the December injunction.

The latest complaint specifically accuses Red Rose Rescue member Brianna Mangat, also known as Bernadette Patel, of violating the December order by "knowingly and repeatedly" coming within 15 feet of the doorway and walkway entrances of Planned Parenthood facilities, with the intent to "interfere with patients" entering the clinics.

On Aug. 15, 2024, for example, Mangat “repeatedly followed and crowded patients, trying to speak into their ears and give them pamphlets as they attempted to avoid her and enter the building…follow[ing] patients to within inches of the main doorway entrance, as volunteers opened the door to let them in,” according to the complaint.

In fact, only three weeks after the December injunction, Mangat "knowingly and repeatedly" resumed her disruptive activity outside a Planned Parenthood in Manhattan, the complaint states.

Mangat is also alleged to have worn a pink vest resembling those of clinic escorts, in a deliberate attempt to "confuse patients" and prevent them from accessing reproductive health services, according to court documents.

Other individuals named in the August complaint include Christopher Moscinski, Matthew Connolly, William Goodman, Laura Gies, and John Hinshaw, who have been involved in “invading reproductive health care facilities" with the intent to interfere with and intimidate patients seeking services, the complaint states.

‘Well Within Her First Amendment Rights’

According to its mission statement, "Red Rose Rescuers peacefully talk to women scheduled for abortion, with the goal of persuading them to choose life."

Reached for comment, Red Rose Rescue spokesperson Monica Miller provided the following statement:

This has got to be one of the most bogus lawsuits ever. Apparently James doesn't even know what the New York injunction states. The preliminary injunction only restricts persons who have an intent to violate the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Bernadette Patel, who allegedly went within the "prohibited zone" was well within her First Amendment rights--trying to reach out to women ready to kill their unborn children. She had no intention of conducting a Red Rose Rescue, and didn't conduct one. Moreover, Patel is not a "member" of Red Rose Rescue-- as Red Rose Rescue is not a formal group, it has no "members," and she certainly was not reaching out to moms at NY area abortion centers as a member of Red Rose Rescue, even if Red Rose Rescue was a formal organization. She was conducting her own completely independent pro-life activity. Our attorneys are confident that this complaint will be thrown out, as it should be. Hasn't James better things to do with her time and New York tax-payer money?

According to court documents, Red Rose Rescue has been previously represented by Christopher Ferrara of the Thomas More Society, a conservative legal organization.

Upholding Safe Access

A spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Greater New York directed Patch to the following statement:

Planned Parenthood of Greater New York applauds New York Attorney General Letitia James for continuing to take a stand against protesters outside our health centers that harass, threaten, and intimidate patients seeking health care. Everyone deserves the ability to access the care they need without threat, violence, or fear. In holding Red Rose Rescue accountable for their disruption of care, the Attorney General is supporting New Yorkers’ right to access our facilities with dignity. PPGNY is committed to fostering a safe environment that honors everyone’s right to access the full range of sexual and reproductive health care – which will always include abortion services. We will continue to work with our elected leaders and partners to ensure our patients receive the care they deserve.

Patch will continue to follow this story, and provide updates as it continues to unfold.