#FAFO: Anti-abortion “activist” Lauren Handy and her co-conspirators convicted on all counts of blocking access to a D.C. clinic
Potentially sets important precedent for clinic protections in a Post-Roe era that shows an up to 200+% increase in anti-abortion violence
Abortion rights activists, clinics, their staff, and patients nation-wide are cheering a recent decision by a D.C. jury to convict Lauren Handy and her co-conspirators on all counts of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act of 1994, a federal law that makes it a crime to threaten or block someone seeking access to an abortion clinic. Their attack on a D.C. clinic was especially threatening and horrendous. According to The Hill:
D.C. Police body camera footage revealed that one patient, who testified under a pseudonym, had no other choice but to climb through a window into the reception area after members of the group took furniture from the waiting room to barricade the clinic’s entrance.
Authorities said they also used chains, ropes and bike locks to tie themselves to chairs and one another and yelled at incoming patients, telling them they were “killing babies” and “going to hell.”
Another woman, who had traveled from Ohio to receive an abortion, said she collapsed on the floor outside the clinic in pain while her husband pleaded with the activists to stop, according to reports from WUSA9.
A nurse who was working at the clinic that day sustained a severe ankle injury as activists, who had hidden in an emergency stairwell, stormed the clinic, following Handy’s instructions, according to officials.
“They planned their crime carefully, to take over that clinic, block access to reproductive services and interfere with others’ rights,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Crabb said during his closing arguments last week, The Post reported. “The idea of deliberately breaking the law, to them, was sexy.”
The defendants are facing up to 11 years in prison and $300K+ in fines. The evidence clearly shows that their actions violated the main two requirements of the FACE Act, which creates federal jurisdiction and penalties for a person who:
1. By force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person because that person is or has been, or in order to intimidate such person or any other person or any class of persons from, obtaining or providing reproductive health services;
2. Intentionally damages or destroys the property of a facility, or attempts to do so, because such facility provides reproductive health services.
As one might expect from indoctrinated lunatic clout-chasers who revere the work of former anti-abortion extremist Randall Terry, the trial itself was total spectacle.
From Jezebel Magazine:
Handy’s lawyers tried to get the judge to allow her to submit as evidence photos of five fetuses she claims to have taken from a medical waste truck outside the same clinic more than one year later. (Handy notoriously kept said fetal remains in her refrigerator. An anti-abortion group Handy works for said it called in the police tip about the fetuses the day after the Department of Justice announced the FACE Act charges.) The judge said no to allowing the fetus photos and barred any so-called “vigilante” defenses.
The judge also had to warn the defendants about both jury and witness tampering. On the first day of jury selection, supporters of the defendants stood outside courthouse doors where prospective jurors often enter and passed out fliers falsely claiming the abortion clinic they invaded had engaged in wrongdoing. At one point, a woman dressed as a nun repeatedly made the sign of the cross at a government witness as she testified, then followed her into the hallway during a break to recite Hail Marys at her.
Despite this good-news ruling, unfortunately the case is far from over. The defendants’ attorneys have vowed to appeal the verdict all the way to SCOTUS, and they — along with prominent anti-abortion groups — have made it clear their ultimate goal is to repeal the FACE Act. Because that’s what we definitely need: fewer protections for clinics facing a huge increase in anti-abortion violence. Anti-abortion violence statistics before Roe v. Wade was erroneously overturned:
There were dire warnings that anti-abortion violence would only increase if Roe v. Wade was overturned. Sure enough, those foreboding claims have come true. From more than 500 clinics reporting to the National Abortion Federation as of 2022:
From Axios:
Zoom in: The report found that states that protect abortion access saw a “disproportionate” increase, including a ninefold increase in reported cases of stalking, a doubling of burglaries and a 29% increase in assaults and batteries from 2021 to 2022.
- Bomb threats also increased in these states by 133% and obstruction — defined as an act causing delay or attempting to delay the conduct of a business or preventing people from accessing a business — rose more than fivefold.
Details: The report found the following changes nationwide from 2021 to 2022, based on reports submitted by the Federation’s nearly 500 member facilities:
- A 231% increase in burglaries.
- A 229% increase in stalking.
- A 100% increase in arson.
- A 25% increase in invasions, in which perpetrators managed to get inside a clinic in an effort to “cause disruptions” and “delay patient care.”
- A 20% increase in death threats and other threats of harm.
It’s important to keep these heinous statistics in mind as the antis ramp up their egregious false equivalencies, “whataboutisms,” and insane accusations of “pro-choice extremist violence” to distract from their terrible actions and crimes. Also, keep in mind that their violence and abuse lands on top of passing laws on our bodies that cause physical harm up to and including death and serious mental distress. There is NO comparison.
A few months ago, I read through the accusations of “prochoice violence” from one of the most prominent purveyors of false information about abortion, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and exposed just how ridiculous they were on an Instagram post. I re-posted it yesterday in light of the antis whining after Handy J. and the Jailbird Jimmies’ convictions.
These incidences included mostly vandalism on empty buildings, but there was a particularly violent incident of… FOUL LANGUAGE from one protestor!!! *pearl clutching commences*
OK, but seriously, shit’s getting INSANE in this country. Buckle up — it’s only going to get more challenging from here.
But always remember: You have an absolute right to your own body and to defend it against anyone who poses harm. Complications from pregnancy fit this bill. There is NO SHAME in accessing the healthcare you need and want.
In the meantime, I will be following this developing story and crossing my fingers for it setting an important precedent for clinic and patient/provider protections. Onward…
