Tough week for pro-lifers as activists convicted, pregnancy center attacked after DNC

It was a rough week for pro-life advocates, and that was before another pregnancy resource center was vandalized.

Aid for Women, a crisis pregnancy center in Chicago, was attacked after the last night of the Democratic National Convention, its door locks cemented shut and its windows spray-painted with pro-choice and anti-Israel messages.

Vandals wrote “Fake Clinic” and “The Dead Babies Are in Gaza” on the windows of the center located less than three miles from the United Center, the site of the Democratic Party convention.

There have been at least 93 attacks on pro-life centers since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

Two days earlier, seven pro-life activists were found guilty of felony “conspiracy against rights” and violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act by a federal jury in Detroit, a win for the Justice Department in its crackdown on protests at abortion facilities.

The seven defendants, who include 89-year-old Eva Edl, could face up to 10 years in prison for orchestrating what Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke described as an “unlawful clinic blockade.”

“Make no mistake: every American enjoys the right to obtain and provide reproductive health services free from physical obstruction, and the Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those that oppress the free exercise of that right,” said Ms. Clarke in the Aug. 20 statement.

The Thomas More Society, which represents 75-year-old Chester Gallagher, has filed a motion to dismiss the “conspiracy against rights” count, accusing the department of seeking “to inflict [maximum] pain upon peaceful pro-lifers” with the additional charge.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman of the Eastern District of Michigan is scheduled to hear arguments on the motion.

Conservatives have accused the Justice Department and the Biden administration of targeting pro-life activists for prosecution while turning a blind eye to the pregnancy centers under siege since the Supreme Court’s majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked in May 2022.

Attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers may also be prosecuted under the FACE Act. Since the law’s passage in 1994, however, only six of the 211 prosecutions have been brought against pro-choice protesters, according to data released earlier this month by Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican.

That means the FACE Act has been used to prosecute pro-life activists in 97% of cases.

“At the end of the day, they’re trying to weaponize this specifically to put pro-life people in jail for a long time,” Mr. Roy said in an interview with the Family Research Council’s Washington Watch.

The Chicago Police Department is investigating the latest episode of vandalism, according to Susan Barrett, Aid for Women executive director.

The incident marked the 93rd attack on pro-life offices and facilities since May 2022, according to the CatholicVote tracker.

CatholicVote President Brian Burch linked the vandalism to the Democratic convention, which wrapped up Thursday.

Leading Democrats such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have accused the pro-life pregnancy centers of promoting deceptive and misleading information, which they deny.

“The aggressive actions and rhetoric of pro-abortion politicians maligning pregnancy resource centers as they serve the vulnerable has no doubt fueled this senseless violence,” Mr. Burch said.

Ms. Barrett said that about 3,000 women each year visit Aid For Women, which operates six pregnancy centers and two maternity homes, while more than 5,000 reach out to the facility annually via phone, text or email.

The centers provide free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, abortion pill reversals, and counseling services, as well as material aid such as diapers, baby food and clothing.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported the age of Chester Gallagher.