Since the May 2 leak of a draft opinion suggesting the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling is likely to be overturned this summer, there have been 41 documented cases of churches and pro-life organizations being physically attacked through property crimes and other criminal mischief, according to data compiled by the Family Research Council (FRC).
According to FRC’s report, those 41 instances don’t include another nine cases of physical violence against pro-life advocates, violent threats against churches and illegal disruptions of worship services.
By comparison, there had been one instance of an abortion-related organization being targeted. On May 25, a woman set fire to a Casper, Wyoming, abortion clinic.
Among the attacks on pro-life organizations:
• A pro-abortion group called Jane’s Revenge sprayed graffiti on Calvary Chapel and Harbor Church in Olympia, Washington, as well as a local Catholic church and a Mormon church. The messages included “Abort the church” and “If abortions aren’t safe neither are you.” The same group took credit for a Molotov cocktail attack on May 8 on the offices of Wisconsin Family Action.
• Within a week of the Supreme Court leak, at least five pro-life pregnancy centers were vandalized, beginning with Trotter House in Austin, Texas, on May 3. The number rose to 23 on June 11, when the Gresham (Oregon) Pregnancy Resource Center was firebombed. On Mother’s Day, the Oregon Right to Life offices were also firebombed.
• On the night of May 10, the offices of Concerned Women for America in Alexandria, Virginia, were vandalized and the security system was damaged by what was described as a “left-wing activist” whom the staff believes they had encountered before.
• On May 23, the Mount Avery Missionary Baptist Church near Columbus, Mississippi, was vandalized with pro-abortion graffiti like “Girls just want to have fun-damental human rights” and “Keep your laws off my body.”
• Among the churches attacked nationally, 12 were Roman Catholic.
Additionally, the pro-abortion activist group Ruth Sent Us shut down its website after allegations, which it denied, that the group had published the addresses and other personal information of conservative Supreme Court justices. In the weeks after the leak, there have been protests outside the homes of conservative justices. On June 7, Nicholas John Roske of California was arrested outside the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Roske allegedly planned to assassinate Kavanaugh. He possessed a Glock 17 pistol, ammunition, a knife, zip ties, pepper spray and other items, according to the Washington Examiner. Ruth Sent Us promptly shut down its website after the arrest, denying it had doxed the justices.
“For the last 49 years—each time the pro-life movement had encountered an uncertain future, whether it be the future of an unexpectedly pregnant mom or of Supreme Court decisions, the movement has responded with an outpouring of love, resources, and prayer,” said Mary Szoch, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity. “For the pro-abortion industry, the exact opposite is true.
“Their solution to uncertainty about a mother’s future has always been violence and destruction in the sacred space of the mother’s womb. It is not surprising that now that the pro-abortion movement is facing uncertainty of the future decision of the Supreme Court, their response is once again violence.
“The pro-life movement must continue to respond with love, prayer, and support for men, women, and babies in need,” Szoch concluded.
