Activists advocating against abortion are confronting criminal charges by the state for staging a rescue operation outside an abortion clinic in Pennsylvania.

In a tense and chaotic afternoon on July 31, six pro-life activists were arrested during a Red Rose Rescue protest at the Delaware County Women's Center in the Crozer Chester Medical Center, Upland, Pennsylvania.

The Red Rose Rescue, founded in June 2017, is a peaceful protest movement that aims to give witness to the truth against abortion. The group's first clinic intervention took place in September of the same year.

The protesters, including Joan Andrews Bell, William Goodman, ChristyAnne Collins, Monica Miller, Patrice Woodworth-Crandall, and William Holmberg, were accused of biosecurity trespassing and disorderly conduct. These misdemeanors could potentially result in jail terms of up to one year and fines.

The Upland borough police report described the event as nonviolent but chaotic. A nurse at the center pulled the fire alarm in an attempt to get the protesters to leave, but they refused. The protesters were reported to have acted like dead weight, requiring physical removal.

Among the six defendants, Bell and Goodman had previously been pardoned by President Donald Trump for their convictions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

The Catholic Church, which opposes abortion as it holds that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, was not involved in this particular protest.

The Delaware County Women's Center provides first trimester medication-based abortions using mifepristone and misoprostol. Miller, one of the defendants, claimed that the protesters peacefully offered roses and resources to mothers seeking abortions, including an attempt to stop a medication-based abortion with progesterone after a woman had taken the first dose of mifepristone.

About 90 minutes into the rescue, the staff announced that they were closing the clinic for the day, and all abortion appointments for the eight women who had arrived were canceled.

The names of the pro-life activists arrested on July 31 in Upland, Pennsylvania, and their states of origin, are not available in the provided search results. An arraignment hearing was postponed until Aug. 21.

It is worth noting that the FACE Act enforcement has been ceased by the Justice Department, and a bill to repeal the act has been voted out of the House Judiciary Committee. This development could potentially impact future Red Rose Rescue protests.

Activists advocating against abortion are confronting criminal charges by the state for staging a rescue operation outside an abortion clinic in Pennsylvania.