A woman has been charged with battery for allegedly assaulting pro-lifers outside an abortion facility in Rockford, Illinois, on December 27. The incident occurred on the first day of the facility’s operation.
Police say Nataly Rivera stopped her car and asked a man standing in front of RFD Family Planning if he and others with him were against abortion. When he told her that they were, she knocked his cell phone out of his hand and then threw her metal coffee cup at him before jumping in her car and speeding away.
In a video describing the incident on the Facebook page for Rockford Family Initiative, the man says that the woman screamed, “There are too many children!” as she hurled her cup. Coffee can be seen all over him and another woman.
After the attack, the pro-lifers called the police, and the woman was later identified and arrested.
The day the attack happened was also the facility’s first day in business. Pro-life advocates fought hard to prevent the opening of RFD Family Planning because of its 611 Auburn Street location, which is in a residential neighborhood. Despite a months-long fight, the Rockford Zoning Board of Appeals decided on December 20 that the facility could open its doors under a special use permit which has allowed the property to operate as a medical office for decades, provided that the facility operator lives on-site.
According to the Rockford Register Star, the building, which is owned by abortionist Dennis Christensen, will offer chemical abortions and an office manager will live on the premises. Christensen came out of retirement after the overturn of Roe v. Wade to purchase the property. Years ago, Christensen was featured in the abortion documentary, “Lake of Fire,” where he can be seen accounting for the dismembered body parts (warning: graphic) of a child he aborted in the second trimester.
Rockford Family Initiative President Kevin Rilott said that the incident will not deter his group from continuing to defend the preborn. “It’s unfortunate that a pro-lifer was attacked,” he told WIFR. “But, we understand that when you stand up and defend life, things like this may happen. The only intention of the business is to end human life. We will have people out there on a regular basis, we’ll offer help to mothers in need.”
