Pray for a "Small Victory" for the Michaels in Granite City, IL

Pray for a "Small Victory" for the Michaels in Granite City, IL

Daniel and Angela Michael represented their Lord so powerfully on the witness stand during their hearing on the 15th and 18th of November. They repeatedly expressed their love for Yogendra Shah and their desire for him to receive Christ. They pleaded for him to take the wonderful talents and abilities God had given him to bring health rather than death.

Clearly this suit is all about the censoring of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Can one share the Gospel outside of an abortionist's office or is that speech to be censored. Remember, Daniel and Angela were on a public sidewalk in front of Mr. Shah's office simply stating the truth that, Mr. Shah not only delivers babies, he also kills them. They interfered with no one. They yelled at no one. They did share the Gospel with several.

Please keep Daniel and Angela in your prayers. This is a sure sign that the ministry of Small Victories is a far bigger victory than anyone could have imagined. Keep given 'em heaven Daniel and Angela.

Doctors sue to stop abortion protests at office
By Trisha L. Howard
Of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

[ Originally posted at the Post-Dispatch's old web site at:

http://home.post-dispatch.com/channel/pdweb.nsf/
da37732b0078d6c285256ad500494df3/86256a0e0068fe5086256c6d005b5b0b?
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This link is now expired. Below this article, read another St. Louis Post-Dispach article from their new web site, http://www.stltoday.com/ with their coverage of the Michaels' testimony.]

A Granite City obstetrician filed a suit Friday that asks a Madison County judge to bar two well-known abortion protesters and others from demonstrating outside his office. He says a protest they staged Oct. 28 caused one of his patients to go into premature labor.

Dr. Yogendra Shah is seeking an injunction that would keep Angela and Daniel Michael of Highland, members of their nonprofit group Small Victories and protester Verna Cepicky of Belleville at least 160 feet from the office, at 3165 Myrtle Avenue.

Shah performs abortions at the Hope Clinic for Women in Granite City.

Shafique Ahmad, a pediatrician who practices in the same building as Shah, also requests the injunction.

Their suit claims that the Michaels and other protesters held up signs displaying dissected fetal parts, advertising "Baby parts sold here" and showing an alleged price list for body parts. The suit calls the signs "intimidating and emotionally abusive" to Ahmad's patients, many of whom are children.

Shah also wants $45,000 for defamation of character because his office does not participate in the illegal practice of selling body parts.

Shah's patient, Candice Howie, is seeking $45,000 for emotional stress caused by the protest. The suit says Howie had to walk through the protesters to get to a routine checkup at Shah's office.

Within 10 minutes of her arrival - and six weeks before her due date - Howie went into labor, the suit said. She blames her premature delivery on the demonstration.

A hearing on the case will be Friday.

Jason Craddock, an attorney for the Michaels, denied all of the charges.

"I believe this is another attempt by the Hope Clinic, Dr. Shah and all other abortion providers to silence anybody who speaks out against abortion," Craddock said Friday. "We're going to fight this - not just for the Michaels but for anybody who speaks for or against an issue."

Shah served for two years as chief of the obstetric-gynecology department at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Granite City until December 2000, when he was removed from the post because of his work at the Hope Clinic. The Catholic hospital has since been sold to a private company, which renamed it Gateway Regional Medical Center.

Reporter Trisha L. Howard:\ E-mail: thoward@post-dispatch.com\ Phone: 618-659-3640

Anti-abortion protesters say they never tried to approach the patients in case
BY TRISHA L. HOWARD
Of the Post-Dispatch
11/19/2002

Four anti-abortion protesters testified Monday that they never tried to approach the patients of a Granite City doctor who performs abortions, nor tried to dissuade them from seeing the doctor in his capacity as an obstetrician.

The doctor, Yogendra Shah, has asked a Madison County Circuit Court judge for an injunction to keep the protesters at a distance from the building that houses his private practice.

Shah says one of his patients went into labor after the protesters confronted her on Oct. 28 while she approached the office to have a routine checkup. She delivered her baby six weeks before her due date.

Associate Judge Clarence Harrison II said he plans to issue a ruling on Shah's request by the end of this week.

Shah's lawyer, Mark Levy, said the protesters are trying to drive Shah out of business because they don't approve of his association with the Hope Clinic for Women, where Shah performs abortions.

Defendant Daniel Michael denied Levy's claim. Michael, his wife, Angela, and four of their children were among about eight protesters at Shah's office on Oct. 28.

"I just wish he would stop killing babies and turn to Jesus," Michael testified, adding that doctors with dual careers in obstetrics and abortion "serve two gods."

"Once the public finds out what they do, they have to serve one god," Michael concluded.

Levy and Michael's attorney, Jason Craddock, drew heavily on a 1994 court case from Florida to justify their positions. That case involved restrictions on anti-abortion protesters at a women's health clinic.

Levy asked that Harrison restrict protesters to a 20-by-30-foot grassy strip across the street from Shah's building at 3165 Myrtle Avenue and bar them from carrying signs that show dissected fetuses.

Craddock wants to preserve his clients' right to protest on the sidewalk in front of Shah's office and to carry any signs they want.

"They were on a public sidewalk, and they were taking pains not to stop people going in," Craddock said. "They simply wanted to show the community at large that this doctor is an abortionist."

During one of their weekly radio shows, the Michaels said they would continue protesting at Shah's office.

Levy also represents pediatrician Shafique Ahmad, Shah's neighbor in the medical building. He argued that Ahmad's young patients shouldn't be forced to look at graphic pictures of aborted fetuses.

"I asked Angela (Michael) if she would show graphic signs at this location" at future demonstrations, Levy said. "She was honest enough to say 'yes.'"

Reporter Trisha L. Howard:
E-mail: thoward@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 618-659-3640

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