Judge halts Wichita ‘Mass for Life’ that would have blocked abortion clinic entrance

The Catholic Diocese of Wichita canceled its “Mass for Life” demonstration scheduled for Saturday that would have blocked the only public entrance to a Wichita abortion clinic after a judge issued a temporary restraining order.

The Trust Women abortion clinic was founded by George Tiller, a Wichita abortion provider who was assassinated in 2009 by an anti-abortion extremist, and is a frequent target of anti-abortion protests. The Catholic Diocese of Wichita received a permit earlier this year from the city of Wichita allowing it to close South Bleckley Street on Saturday morning, a time that’s outside the clinic’s listed business hours, for a mass led by Bishop Carl Kemme.

The order blocking the street closure is in effect until the Wichita City Council holds a hearing, which was requested by both the Catholic Diocese and Trust Women this week. But the hearing isn’t likely to happen before the Oct. 7 scheduled event.

Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said he has no plans to call a special meeting Friday afternoon or evening, a move that would require consent from a majority of the council and at least two hours notice to the public.

Strategic Workspace Event Center, another business located on South Bleckley, also opposed the street closure. A third nearby business — which did not protest the street closure — is Choices Medical Clinic Inc., a center that offers consultations and sonograms to try to dissuade people from getting abortions. Its entrance may not have been blocked, according to a site plan filed with the city.

The city of Wichita — through its parks and recreation department and chief of police — had initially awarded a permit to The Catholic Diocese allowing a street closure on Bleckley Drive south of East Kellogg Drive.

The closure would have allowed the Catholic Diocese to install street barricades on South Bleckley Drive, blocking public access to Trust Women Wichita, which is ordinarily closed for business on Saturdays but sometimes holds weekend clinics and works on administrative and cleaning tasks on Saturdays.

Trust Women was notified of the planned street closure on Sept. 26 and objected to the city on Sept. 28. But the city declined to hold a hearing, citing a city ordinance requires a hearing only if more than one-third affected properties protest a street closure. Strategic Workspace Event Center protested the closure on Monday, giving opponents a two-thirds majority that requires the city to hold a hearing.

But the City Council did not take up the issue at its Tuesday meeting. Whipple said he did not know about the second protest until Wednesday afternoon.

The Catholic Diocese said in a written statement that it still wants an opportunity to be heard by the council.

“It is our hope that we have the opportunity to speak in front of City Council as it is important to express our religious liberties by praying in public however that will not happen before Saturday, October 7, the date of the Mass for Life,” the Wichita Diocese said in a news release Friday afternoon.

Trust Women petitioned the court for a temporary restraining order on Friday morning, requested the court to order the City Council to hold a special meeting on the protest petitions before the Saturday morning mass. Sedgwick County Chief Judge Jeffery Goering signed an order Friday afternoon granting the temporary restraining order.

“Motion is granted as follows - the permit for street closure of Bleckley Street is stayed until such time as a hearing required by Wichita City Council Ordinance 3.11.150(c)(2) is held, with notice given as required by Wichita City Ordinance 2.04.210.”

Trust Women said it supports the First Amendment but wanted its opportunity to state a case to the City Council.

“We fully support freedom of religion and speech,” Trust Women said in a written statement to The Eagle. “In this case, our concern is for access to the clinic and businesses on Bleckley that would have been impacted by this event.”

“We’re glad the court agreed to delay a street closure until the City Council could take up this issue,” the statement said. “It’s important for our city to be aware of events that intend to significantly disrupt the legal and necessary provision of health care, and to have as much information as needed to ensure both the events and the impacted neighborhoods have their concerns properly addressed.”