Contractor abandons roofing job after learning that building is an abortion clinic

A contractor in Wichita has abandoned a roofing job at a building in Wichita, Kansas after learning that the company that sought its services was an abortion provider.

The roofing job at South Wind Women's Center was left only half completed when Farha Roofing stopped working on the building.

According to Life News, Julie Burkhart, the owner and administrator of South Wind, sought the services of the contractor under the guise of Kellogg, LLC, and did not disclose that the building was an abortion facility.

Farha Roofing had already begun the job on the leaky, flat-roofed building when it was informed by Mark Gietzen and the Kansas Coalition for Life (KCFL) about the nature of Burkhart's business.

"Farha Roofing was slow to comply with our request, but they eventually pulled off the job, leaving it half-done, and have not been back since," Gietzen said in a written statement on Tuesday.

The clinic portion of the roof still appears to show the original brown trim, indicating that it had not been re-roofed. The contractor had reportedly left what seemed to be foam insulation on pallets in the clinic's parking lot.

Life News noted that South Wind is struggling to find anyone in Wichita to work on its building. The clinic has reportedly had to go out of town — and even out of state — to find workers, such as plumbers and electricians, who are willing to provide their services to the facility.

"The message is loud and clear. The people of Wichita do not want an abortion facility operating in their city," said Troy Newman, president of Wichita-based Operation Rescue.

Meanwhile, Gietzen is reportedly planning to send letters to businesses in the area to warn them about Burkhart's methods to convince contractors into providing their services to the abortion facility.

South Wind had been involved in a controversy last year when its security guard attempted to confiscate a sign of a nearly blind pro-life protester outside the clinic.

David Schmidt, 74, who is considered legally blind, was volunteering for KCFL outside the facility in July 2016 when the security guard, John Rayburn, attempted to take away his sign that was tied to a chair used by volunteers.

The pro-life protester was arrested and convicted of battery in Wichita Municipal Court in February, but he was exonerated by the Sedgwick County Superior Court in July this year.

Schmidt's arrest stems from the 2016 enactment of a new city sign ordinance, which prohibits the use of sidewalk chalk and signs that are not handheld. Rayburn had told the court that he attempted to confiscate Schmidt's sign because he believed it was in violation of the ordinance.

"We consider the sign ordinance to be unconstitutional. The South Wind abortion clinic is using it to bully, harass and intimidate pro-life activists that are peacefully offering information and practical assistance to abortion-bound women," Newman said.

"The fact that the City would willing serve as abortion facility henchmen is appallingly wrong and unacceptable," he added.