Current Events/News

Pro-Life Leader Joan Andrews Bell Interviewed Two Days Before Sentencing

A lengthy, in-depth and wide-ranging interview with pro-life leader Joan Andrews Bell will appear in the February issue of Inside the Vatican magazine. The interview was conducted by Inside the Vatican contributing editor John Mallon on the evening of January 13, 1998, two days before she was sentenced to 3-23 months in a Pittsburgh prison by Judge Raymond Novak, a former Jesuit Priest. She was arrested suddenly last September on a 13-year-old outstanding warrant. She was sentenced for refusing to violate her conscience by accepting probation for her role in a non-violent Operation Rescue in 1985, for which she had already served two and a half years mostly in solitary confinement during the 1980s.

In the interview Joan speaks about the circumstances behind this arrest, her family, other pro-life prisoners needing support, the state of our culture and the need for prayer and conversion, what her supporters and friends can do to support her and the babies while she is in prison, and also the pro-life work that she and her husband, Christopher, have been doing in recent years. This interview is the first in a series of features planned by Inside the Vatican on current state of the pro-life movement world-wide. Please spread the word.

For subscription information call 1-800-789-9494. When subscribing, please specify that you would like your subscription to begin with the February issue containing this interview.

Please write letters to the jail warden of Allegheny County jail to remind him of the need for accountability in Joan's case (i.e., he is responsible for her safety while she is imprisoned in his jail):

                Warden Calvin Lightfoot
                Allegheny County Jail
                950 2nd Ave.
                Pittsburgh, PA  15219-3100

The response to Joan's plight has been tremendous--keep up the pressure! In addition to writing letters to Judge Novak, why not phone him as well? His number is (412) 350-4726.

Joan went non-cooperatively--deputies carried her from the courtroom-- in the spirit of resistance to evil laws. She has stated that she will receive no visitors, nor any mail, in solidarity with the unborn martyrs.

Things to be thankful for:

• at the rally the previous night, Joan told fellow prolifers not to worry about her, that she was at peace with her decision.
• The sentence could have been indeterminate, i.e., she could have been in jail forever.
• The Judge sentenced her to serve her time in a county jail rather than a prison.

Joan, her husband Chris, and their two children need your prayer support now more than ever.

(Ed. note, 16 Jan 98: I watched WTAE News last night for coverage of the trial, but all I saw was a 30-second piece that was totally biased against Joan. The two reporters smirked and joked about Joan's plight, and they told the lie that Joan fled to avoid prosecution in the 1985 Pittsburgh incident [see fact sheet])

(Ed. note: what a magnificent rally! Literally hundreds of prolifers from all across the country--including several celebrities, such as Joe Scheidler, Don Treshman and others--were on hand to express their love and support for Joan. In his speech, Joe Scheidler called Joan a "saint"--I agree).