What can be done legally in this situation?

I have a friend who went to get an abortion and accidentally dropped her cell phone outside. The protesters took her phone and called people on the contact list to let them know what she was doing. They still have the phone.

What would be the first steps to taking action? Should she go straight to the police? Will they be able to figure out who took the phone and made the calls?

Answers:
Don't cancel the phone yet.

The first thing I would do is get somebody from outside the state of Michigan to call into the number and record the call. Michigan is a two-party consent state in regards to recording phone calls. But the federal law requires only one party's consent to record a call. If a call takes place across state lines, the federal law applies.

Not only is their use of the phone illegal (theft of services) but it also might be illegal to disclose medical info about another person (not sure on that). At the very least, your friend could sue them for slander because they would have no evidence as to why she entered the clinic. For all they know, she went in there to water the plants.
Go to the cops immediately. They prolly could fingerprint the phone.

Honestly, I wish these religious nutjobs would take a hike.
B1tch slap the protesters for one thing...


Yes, call the police. The protesters had no right to do that. They will probably be made to stay away from the clinic at least...
Go to the police. They have stolen her property, not to mention used it.

As for proving that they used it, if she knows what time she had the phone taken/lost the phone, and what time she got the phone back, all calls made inbetween those times were obviously made by the person that had the phone illegally.

I don't know if they would be able to identify who stole the phone in any other way than fingerprints. . .
You need to save your voice mail because that is evidence. Also she needs to get a copy of her phone bill to see if they called any other numbers. You never know, someone could have called home by mistake.

I think she needs to go straight to the police and tell them she is afraid that more harassment may come. She needs to let them know she is concerned for her safety, and now that these protesters have her personal info, and phone numbers of family etc, she is quite concerned. Obviously they intend to do her harm since they called all these people to discuss a medical procedure that they do not even know she had (many women change their minds inside the clinic, some women go inside to wait with a friend who is having an abortion).

I would probably call a newspaper and tell the story, but I understand that she may not want to do that. Oh, and don't cancel the phone just yet. Try to catch them. They may think she doesn't even know it was stolen. Don't call the phone or text it, nothing. Just see what happens. They may even try to get in her voice mail.

Do they know you? You say you used to protest. Can you infiltrate? lol sounds funny but I'm serious. Can you infiltrate?
wow what disrespect.

i do not know the answer but i can guarantee you, people will say:
thats what she gets for killing a baby, or how can she do that. regardless if you didn't ask it,
I would have probably went after them and done some personal damage, but im a guy, and im not pregnant.
People can be so ignorant, these people obviously don't respect other peoples decisions. Until abortion is considered 100% illegal, its personal choice, and the people should be charged with stolen property, and definement of character or something like that. like when you discriminate or whatever...(cant' remember what its called)
First I would cancel the account and get records, then I would go to the police and file a complaint. Since it is her cell phone they will not be able to find out who did it unless there was a witness, afterall the only person that saw the person do it was the other protesters and the phone(and its not talking). And the people in the contact list only heard the voice.
Yes, call the police. If they still have the phone, your friend can give them the number and they can be traced to wherever they are. This is theft, and I think some kind of defamation of character? I'm not really sure. But yes, go to the police.
Ouch. Are they crazy? I'd go to the police, to me it feels like harassment... Good luck!
Find an attorney that will file a lawsuit against the organization of the protesters.

The cause of action is "Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress". It's a pretty slam-dunk case on the facts you gave, because it's quite obvious that the calls had no other purpose.

I'd suggest going straight for the organization, and hopefully you can make them liable for the actions of their members, or even non-members that showed up for an event they put together.

Your friend is going to get a lot of publicity, but apparently everyone she knows already knows what's going on anyway.

If I were putting it together, I'd ask for enough damages to ensure that the organization is put out of business, and seek to "pierce the corporate veil" to make the judgement valid against any and all officers of the organization as individuals.
Of course the first thing she should have done is to contact the cell phone carrier and cancel the phone service and tell them why. Then she needs to take care of herself from the mental & physical stress of the abortion. I am so sorry she couldn't keep it confidential. Maybe the cell phone company can answer her questions. Even if the police were called she would have to tell them she reported it stolen. I had Sprint and when my phone was stolen they stopped my billing asa I reported it. They said they could track 'him' down but that they could not give me any further information as to his name or anything. He had put over $200 worth of songs and IM's on there. I'm sure she is so grateful to have you as a friend in her two times of need.
Your poor friend - what a huge invasion of privacy! It boggles my mind that people who purport to be so caring about life can be so incredibly petty and stupid.

It sounds like the other folks here have some good suggestions about how to handle this situation.

I hope your friend finds out who made those calls and nails them to the wall!

Good luck and best wishes to your friend!
gee..that i totally crazy. I am just soo sick of these religious nuts/freaks. Yeah..go immediately to the police and also notify the phone company of the situation. They can give u the list of ppl they called. Alos they stole her property and her privacy , this is def. an offense.
My guess is these nuts can be def. found around the abortion clinic maybe around the same time; if they hang out there usually to protest. U can in secret maybe take pics of them( and give to the police)..
I am sorry abt what happedned though.
Go to the cops. Go to the local press. Let the clinic involved know, as well.

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