The Dispute Between Randall Terry and Troy Newman;

I Have Tried to Bring Reconciliation

By Missy Smith

July 16, 2009

Dear Pro-life Friend –

It grieves me to write this letter. Some of you may know I have been spearheading an attempt to stop the very public quarrel of two pro-life leaders in a dispute they have with each other. I mainly took this on because with each passing day, the ill will of other pro-lifers on the sidelines was increasing, the divide was growing, and the number of participants was increasing.

Pro-lifers across the country were jumping in without knowing the whole story and taking action to sabotage projects in the pro-life fight. We had broken the golden rule to not attack each other’s projects in this most important work of Our Lord Jesus Christ’s - the saving of His precious children. Our eyes had been diverted from the prize; the prize is saving the babies.

I am referring to the dispute between Randall Terry and Troy Newman over the use of the name, “Operation Rescue.”

With this in mind, a month ago, I contacted pro-life hero Joan Andrews Bell and told her what I knew to be true; that certain pro-lifers were attacking Randall Terry in a very public, very destructive way to the pro-life movement. Some even went so far as to have Randall’s speaking engagements cancelled at different colleges. Some undermined and attacked the “in place plans” of pro-life college groups to participate in our recent presence at Notre Dame. Two or three schools cancelled their buses with the encouragement from this person.

Joan was also very upset since she has known Randall from the beginning and said there was no question that he had started Operation Rescue. Her simple solution was that Troy go back to using the name Operation Rescue West and Randall continue with Operation Rescue. Joan agreed to start calling the parties who were taking direct action in an attempt to quiet things down, and at the same time arranging for Troy Newman and Randall Terry to meet face to face in a room with just one mediator to discuss ways to end the very public tearing of flesh in the pro-life movement involving the trademark dispute over the name “Operation Rescue,” and the attacks on Randall.

I understood this was not the first and only attempt at accomplishing this. But my concerns were mounting as more and more pro-lifers were going public with their opinions and the divide was getting greater between the two camps. But most importantly it was taking our attention away from our goal of ending the legal killing of pre-born children. Satan was winning in diverting our attention from our goal of saving innocent children from being slaughtered.

Troy, Randall, and the mediator agreed to meet alone. I then received a letter last week from Troy that was terribly disturbing. It was an open letter to pro-life leaders and activists across the country entitled, “Randy Terry’s unbiblical lawsuit filed against Troy Newman.” I was shocked and deeply disappointed.

He again stated three things that he said Randall wanted from him which I know not to be true. For example, Troy said Randall wants all the money he raised in the last 5 years, and his mailing list. This is not true. There were also many personal attacks against Randall that were sins against charity. Troy did not appear to be a man who wanted to resolve this deep divide. I was confused; he did appear to be a man with a purpose of destroying another man’s reputation by making blatant public false accusations.

I felt sick inside. My hopes were dashed that I could bring these two together and start a new beginning. I couldn’t see the purpose of a meeting if it was just an opportunity to have Troy again accuse Randall of the things that he had told me personally and then made public in an open letter in the past and now again last week to the pro-life community. (Have you noticed that the vast majority of Randall’s detractors are non-Catholic? The Catholic formation of our conscience would not allow us to promote gossip and cause scandal.)

Most of Troy’s accusations have nothing to do with the Trademark Commission’s determination but more about personally slandering Randall’s character. Randall would again be tried in the court of public opinion.

I think this is grossly unfair and therefore I have decided to pull the plug on the meeting. It was my idea to begin with, and I am withdrawing the offer.

I feel that Troy is now trying to use this as a “setup” against Randall, and that Troy was not sincere when he committed to meet with Randall and the mediator alone. Troy said yes, but then wrote back and said he would bring board members to the meeting, knowing that that would not happen.

I also must give some personal history to you, so you understand why I have tried to bring reconciliation, or at least try to stop this tearing of flesh, and why I have postponed my effort of a meeting between Randall and Troy.

Three summers ago Troy called me and told me that Randall Terry was suing him. I didn’t know Randall, but I knew, trusted, and liked Troy very much. He said Randall was suing him for the website, database and monies.

I believed him.

The first time I meet Randall was when he spoke for Jack Ames at the Face the Truth Tour. Because of what I had been told I was very distrustful of him.

About six or eight months later – in the spring of 2008 – Randall and his wife Andrea moved to the Washington DC area.

He began to call me (not knowing of my distrust of him) to ask me to be involved in a project where we would distribute the words of John Paul II concerning elections and abortion in Catholic churches.

Again, I was hesitant to be involved, and was constantly making excuses. I never really told Randall outright that I would not help him – I just skirted the project – and the election came and went. In November of 2008 I was with Randall for a few moments in Baltimore on another project.

I think that Randall knew that I was hiding from him. He finally said to me in a conversation on the phone, “Would you just come to my house? Andrea and I would like to visit with you and hear what you are doing and share with you what we are doing.”

At that time – which was after Obama’s election, but before the inauguration – Randall asked me to work with him. It was at that time I aired my concerns about what I had heard about “his suing” Troy. He explained to me that he was not suing Troy but had petitioned the Trademark Commission to cancel Troy’s registration. This calmed my concerns.

He was very honest with me. He said, “My stock is low” and then he proceeded to tell me some of the things he and Andrea had been through, and what he intended to do in the future.

Over our next few meetings, he asked me to join him in the “Hundred First Rosaries”.

I said yes.

Starting on January 20, everyday at 12:30 at Lafayette Park (across from the White House). Randall and I and other pro-lifers would gather to pray. And it was there, over the days and weeks that followed, that Randall was truly transparent as we shared in prayer and in conversations that I learned about the real person.

As the months unfolded, we did not speak about the situation between he and Troy. But I did check with my husband, who is an experienced lawyer and litigator, about the Trademark Commission petition. He concurred that Randall was not suing Troy, and could not in fact be suing Troy. He explained to me that Randall could not, in a trademark proceeding seek money from Troy or acquire his mailing list or damages. I came to understand that the only thing he could do was petition the Trademark Commission and have them look at the evidence from both sides and then make a determination who owns the name, Operation Rescue.

This is very different than what I had been told personally by Troy three summers ago, and then again last week he stated these untruths in his letter. I can’t imagine that Troy’s lawyers have not explained this to him. He either is not telling the truth or is ignorant of the truth. Either way he is slandering Randall’s name and causing others to believe these untruths.

Troy Newman has caused an enormous problem for the babies by the handling of this situation. Numerous people have believed the accusations and acted on them. As I said earlier, events have been cancelled and the lives of innocent babies have been put on hold while a personal war has been waged against a great warrior and leader. And I can tell you one other thing; in all my years in the movement, I have never met a man who works harder in this movement than Randall Terry. How else do you think he gets done all that he does?

I feel a moral responsibility to get this information out and to beg pro-lifers receiving this letter to stop your participation in this very unchristian behavior. False accusations and other personal slandering must stop. Allow the Trademark Commission to make their determination and all parties live with that decision. I pray that the personal attacks against Randall by a handful of people would stop right now.

Commit to stepping back from this situation with Troy and Randall and focus on supporting each other.

With the help of God we can get back to the work at hand and do “Something Beautiful for God,” as Mother Theresa has said. Let’s stop the bleeding and save the babies.

In Jesus and Mary,

Missy Smith, Founder and President
W.A.K.E.U.P.
Women Against the Killing and Exploitation of Unprotected Persons
Washington D.C.