Tapestry Against Polygamy, the anti-plural-marriage advocacy group, is backing out of an invitation from Utah's Attorney General to help weave a network of services for those suffering abuses within the state's polygamist societies.
Their reason? Attorney General Mark Shurtleff also invited a polygamist.
"It's like putting the fox in the henhouse," Tapestry co-founder Rowenna Erickson said.
Tapestry is in favor of Shurtleff's premise and, in fact, met with him Nov. 3 with a proposal for a nonprofit networking and resource center to assist women leaving the plural lifestyle. That mission is incongruent with the pro-polygamists' point of view, and Tapestry director Vicki Prunty said she believes having both perspectives at the table won't work.
The organization issued a news release Tuesday to announce its decision to withdraw from a Friday meeting at the Attorney General's Office and accused Shurtleff of seeking "another wife" for having invited polygamists to the table.
"If the pro-polygamists are coming into where we are going to discuss the needs of individuals leaving the lifestyle, the issues become blurred," Prunty said.
Self-described independent fundamentalist Mormon Anne Wilde, who practiced polygamy for more than 30 years before her husband died, doesn't think they have to be. Wilde supports Shurtleff's mission to help abused women and children get needed services and said she believes she was invited to the gathering to help broaden the understanding of the lifestyle.
"It's true I'm not going to encourage women to come out (of plural marriage)," said Wilde. "But if they are truly abused, I'm not going to encourage them to stay."
Shurtleff's administration has shown more interest in polygamy than his recent predecessors. His focus has been to prosecute crimes, especially sexual crimes, against women and children, and not to go after adults practicing plural marriage as part of their religious beliefs. The issue of abuse has, until now, seemed to be a point where all sides of the polygamy debate have agreed something must be done, Attorney General's Office spokesman Paul Murphy said.
"Essentially, the idea was to bring as many voices to the table as possible," said Murphy, adding that he was "terribly" disappointed by Tapestry's decision. "Our hope is that these two groups of people who seem to have at least some common goals could work together, but it appears for now that they can't."
Friday's gathering was to be an informal beginning to a process that would link government agencies with social services and advocacy groups that could help those both in and out of Utah's closed communities. Doing that requires the cooperation of those both in and out of polygamy, Murphy said. The AG's office has been working toward building bridges that allow for that communication and cooperation, he said.
The AG's office will now continue that work without Tapestry, or Wilde for now, Murphy added.
Prunty said Tapestry's decision to bow out on this issue doesn't signal an end to the five-year-old organization's work with the AG's office. She intends to continue to support the AG's efforts to identify and prosecute crimes.
"It's just two separate issues, and for us to come to the table and discuss the differing issues (with pro-polygamists) would minimize where we want to put our energies and focus," she said.
Wilde said she, too, was disappointed by Tapestry's choice. The AG's willingness to listen to both sides is encouraging, she said, and it would be a shame to see things fall apart over a difference of opinion about lifestyles.
"We don't consider (Tapestry) the enemy, we consider them as having a different perspective," she said. "We don't agree on a lot of things, but I still think that we have enough in common to sit down and talk about the issues."
E-mail: jdobner@desnews.com