West Bloomfield — Five pro-life demonstrators were arrested Dec. 2 at an abortion clinic in West Bloomfield Township and charged with trespassing and interfering with a police officer, both misdemeanors.

Monica Migliorino Miller, founder of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, said the group entered the waiting room of the Michigan Women’s Center to speak to women waiting to have abortions, praying and offering roses with cards attached offering information on pregnancy help.

The five were able to speak to several women before law enforcement arrived and ordered them to leave.

According to Miller, who was among those arrested, the cards read, “God is love and he loves you and your unborn baby. Don’t be afraid. Your life circumstances will change and this baby will give you boundless joy… There is help for you and your baby.” On the reverse side of the card were phone numbers to local pregnancy centers.

After refusing the officers’ orders, the five were arrested and will appear in court Dec. 20 in West Bloomfield.

Miller said the non-violent protest was an effort to save unborn lives by speaking to women about alternatives to abortion, part of a national effort called the “Red Rose Rescue.”

“The Red Rose Rescue is an act of charity for women who feel for whatever reason they must have their innocent unborn children killed,” Miller said in a statement. “The Red Rose Rescue is an action of going into the dark holes of the poor — namely abortion clinics where the innocent are rejected — and in these dark holes we seek to bring hope, true peace and the presence of God.”

The demonstrators’ aim was to offer women words of hope and encouragement, Miller said, not simply to disrupt.

“The Red Rose Rescues do not involve the blockading of clinic entrances or abortion procedure rooms.  When police officers arrive on the scene, pro-lifers will attempt to continue conversation with women or sit on the floor praying quietly or singing hymns until they were placed under arrest,” a statement from Miller’s group said.

A similar demonstration took place earlier this year at the Northland Family Planning Center in Sterling Heights, during which pro-life demonstrators were also arrested.

In addition to Miller, those who demonstrated at the West Bloomfield clinic included Matthew Connolly, Will Goodman, Robert “Doc” Kovaly and Patrice Woodworth.

Two other women also demonstrated at the clinic, but left when ordered by police to do so.