Pro-life activists Tim Palmquist and his expecting wife, Terri, have just returned from Kansas demonstrations.

Tim and Terri Palmquist feel strongly about what they believe.

They feel so strongly, in fact, that last week they packed up their three kids in the family van and drove 30 hours to Kansas to take part in Operation Rescue demonstrations in Wichita. There, they and their family helped block the entrances to abortion clinics for nearly a week.

"When we first got a letter about this thing we both just had this strong conviction that we should go," said Palmquist, a self-employed computer programmer.

Palmquist's wife, Terri, had her own reasons. "The main reason it affected me is because I'm this far along" said Mrs. Palmquist, who is six months pregnant with her fourth child. "There is a man in Wichita who's known for his late-term abortions from the seventh to the ninth month and he flies people in from all over the country and even from other countries to do them."

Dr. George Tiller, who runs the Women's Health Care Services clinic in Wichita, is one of the reasons Operation Rescue chose Wichita for what may be its largest and, according to the Palmquists, most effective rescue yet. Palmquist said another reason is the pro-life sentiment in the area.

"It was a very different atmosphere out there than we're used to from being in Los Angeles," Palmquist said. "There were water coolers donated by McDonald's, and different businesses helped us. The hotel where we were staying had given us a flat rate of $35 a night; they actually cut it to $25 a night the day we left, they were doing everyone a favor."

The Palmquists left Wichita on Saturday, just days before police began arresting protesters. By Wednesday morning more than 400 people had been arrested. The Palmquists, however, consider the demonstration a success.

"This is the first time in the history of the rescue movement that they have been able to totally shut down all the abortion clinics in Wichita; there have been no abortions," Palmquist said.

"This is the first time that any given city has been abortion-free since Roe v. Wade," Mrs. Palmquist added.

The pro-life movement is an important part of life for the family. Palmquist is busy organizing a local prayer vigil for August. Mrs. Palmquist is the president of Life Savers, a group that "sidewalk counsels" women who are considering abortion.

She also goes to court in Los Angeles on July 31 to face charges of trespassing, unlawful assembly, failure to disperse and resisting arrest stemming from a previous protest.

The movement even plays a part in the lives of their children, 5-year-old Andrew, 3-year-old Amy and 17-month-old Micah, who accompanied their parents to Wichita.

"At one time I said something like, 'Boy I can't understand why we came,'" Palmquist said. "My three-year-old said, 'You know, Mom, it was to save babies.'"

• August 13, 1991 article on Terri's trial (August 13, 1991)