IRS lectures pro-life group ‘not to force religious beliefs on others’
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), released an audio clip of a March 2012 phone call between an IRS agent and Ania Joseph, head of Pro-Life Revolution.
During the recorded phone call, IRS agent Sherry Wan is informing Joseph that the organization can’t have a tax exemption and and then “lectures” the woman not to push its religious beliefs on other people.
“You cannot force your religion or force your beliefs on somebody else,” said Wan.
“I just have a question, Sherry,” Joseph asked. “Is handing a brochure to somebody forcing somebody to do something they don’t want to do?”
“You convince them. But when you take a lot of action, [unintelligible] other people. For example, when you, you know, go to, you know, the abortion clinic, and you found them [unintelligible], we don’t want, you know, to come against them.”
“You can’t take all kinds of confrontation activities and also put something on a website and ask people to take action against the abortion clinic. That’s not, that’s not really educational,” said Wan.
The Texas-based pro-life group offers counseling to women who are considering abortion, but does not actually perform medical services. According to The Blaze, Pro-Life Revolution, waited more than two years for its tax exemption.
The ADF and Joseph are angry that the IRS was trying to find out how Pro-Life Revolution is educational or charitable to qualify for its tax exemption.
The Pro-Life Revolution are now trying to demonize the IRS, on their website the are comparing the IRS to “Nazis and communist persecution.”
“The IRS is a tax collector. It shouldn’t be allowed to be the speech and belief police,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley. “The current scandal isn’t new but has merely exposed the abuse of power that characterizes this agency and threatens our fundamental freedoms.”
Transcript below, the audio is very difficult to understand (IMO, BBJ – The Dispatch)
Transcript of recording of phone call placed by IRS agent Sherry Wan to Pro-Life Revolution President Ania Joseph March 8, 2012
Full audio: http://www.adfmedia.org/files/ProLifeRevolutionIRScall.wav
Audio clips with words graphically displayed on screen: http://vimeo.com/67822932
Related news release: http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/8247
(:00-:05) – [Unintelligible]
Agent Sherry Wan (:06-:41) – “…so you have your right. You have your freedom. You have your religious rights. You have a right to believe what you believe. You have the right to think about what you should do, what is right for you to do. OK. And, but, however, this freedom also [unintelligible] to other people. Other people also have the freedom. You know, for the personal view, maybe I go with you. However, I have to [unintelligible] the Internal Revenue Service. I have to stick with the law. Because, you know, we have to keep it neutral.
Client Ania Joseph (:41-:44) – I understand that you have to stick with the law.
Agent (:44-1:17) – Yeah, you have the religious freedom; the freedom of speech. And other people also have the civil rights; human rights. You cannot, you know, use your religious belief to tell other people you don’t have a belief, so I don’t believe you need the right to do this, start confrontation, protesting, uh, prot, uh, protest. [unintelligible] You don’t apply for tax exemption.
Crosstalk (1:17-1:18)
Agent (1:18-1:38) – Nobody will go after you as long as you don’t violate the law. But when you come to apply for tax exemption, you have to keep your action to, you know, exactly what is educational or religious, you know you [unintelligible].
Crosstalk (1:38-1:41)
Agent (1:41-1:56) – And like I said, you can’t, you have, your right to believe. You have your right of belief to do what you’re supposed to do. But you have no right to, against, other people’s beliefs.
Client (1:56-1:57) – I understand your concerns, but…
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