DOJ is 'going hard' against non-violent pro-life protestors: Mollie Hemingway
Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway weighs in on pro-life organizations accusing DOJ of double standards and Georgetown students walking out of former VP Mike Pence's speech on 'The Story with Martha MacCallum.'
EXCLUSIVE: There have been 22 times more attacks against pro-life groups since the leak in early May of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade compared to attacks on pro-choice organizations, new data show.
"The overwhelming narrative in the media is the claim those on the right are responsible for most of the politically motivated violence in the U.S. It has been a theme in the news media after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision was leaked, with many claiming that there was disproportionate violence against pro-choice providers. But a review of cases shows over 22 times more violence against pro-life advocates," John Lott, the founder and president of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), told Fox News Digital on Monday.
Following the unprecedented leak on May 2 detailing that the Supreme Court had a majority of justices ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, headlines warned that pro-choice supporters and organizations would likely face an increase in attacks. A report from the National Abortion Federation found there was an increase in attacks against pro-choice organizations and supporters in 2021, which experts projected would only get worse following the Roe leak and the eventual confirmation that the nation’s highest court effectively ended the recognition of abortion as a constitutional right.
Though the data show there were a handful of attacks from May 3 to Sept. 24 of this year against pro-choice groups and supporters, the number was dwarfed by attacks against pro-life centers.
Pro-choice group Jane's Revenge targeted the wrong address at first when attempting to vandalize Jackson Right to Life's office building. (Kathy Potts)
A research team at CPRC found there were 135 attacks against pro-life organizations and supporters compared to six attacks on pro-choice groups and supporters.
"The media has uncritically accepted pro-choice claims of violence without asking for a list of cases," Lott said.
Attacks on pro-life centers exploded soon after the historic leak in early May. In June, the radical abortion group Jane's Revenge even took credit for some attacks and declared it "open season" on pro-lifers.
A pro-life pregnancy center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was vandalized, and the group Jane's Revenge claimed responsibility. (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life)
"From here forward, any anti-choice group who closes their doors, and stops operating will no longer be a target. But until you do, it’s open season, and we know where your operations are," a letter from Jane’s Revenge dated June 14 reads.
CPRC compiled a spreadsheet of such attacks allegedly carried out by Jane’s Revenge members and other abortion supporters. The list includes graffiti attacks on pro-life offices, a center that was "firebombed" in Buffalo, New York, Catholic churches that were vandalized and even ignited on fire. The list also includes church worship and Catholic Masses that were interrupted by abortion rights advocates, including in June when women stripped during a service at Joel Osteen’s church in Houston and shouted "Overturn Roe, Hell No."
ZERO ARRESTS IN AT LEAST 17 JANE'S REVENGE ATTACKS ON PRO-LIFE ORGANIZATIONS
The nonprofit noted that such attacks have been documented by sources such as the Catholic News Agency and the House Republican Committee on Energy and Commerce.
For attacks on pro-choice members, compiling the data was not as easy, according to CPRC. Research members reached out to the National Abortion Federation for data on 2022 attacks – citing that the organization tracked such incidents in 2021 – but were directed to the DC Abortion Fund. The DC Abortion Fund did not respond to numerous requests for data, according to the CPRC report.
ELDERLY PRO-LIFE VOLUNTEER IN MICHIGAN SHOT AFTER 'HEATED CONVERSATION,' PRO-LIFE GROUP SAYS
The Crime Prevention Research Center's report comes one week before Election Day. (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life)
"We obtained the cases from news searches and various sources, but the pro-abortion organizations refused to respond to repeated requests for additional cases despite efforts over three weeks," CPRC said in its report released this week.
Fox News Digital also reached out the DC Abortion Fund and National Abortion Federation for data and comment, but did not receive a reply by time of publishing.
Protesters march around the Arizona Capitol after the Supreme Court decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The list compiled by CPRC includes a man charged with arson of an organization receiving federal funding after allegedly setting a Michigan Planned Parenthood on fire, a man in New York accused of physically obstructing access to a Planned Parenthood, and a woman in Wyoming accused of setting fire to an abortion clinic, as well as three other attacks.
A Planned Parenthood facility is seen in Sacramento, California, Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
CPRC’s report comes one week ahead of Election Day. Voters have often cited abortion as one of their top concerns, following the economy, and ranked among other issues such as rampant crime and immigration.
ABORTION REMAINS KEY ISSUE FOR SOME VOTERS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS
The report charged that the "US DOJ is selectively targeting pro-life leaders," which linked to a news article detailing 11 pro-life advocates who were indicted this year for demonstrating at an abortion clinic. The CPRC report also pointed to the recent arrest of pro-life activist Mark Houck over an altercation he had with a Planned Parenthood escort in Philadelphia in October 2021.
Additionally, the Department of Justice keeps a running list of "federal prosecutions of recent cases of violence and other conduct directed at reproductive health care providers," according to its website. The CPRC study notes that no such list exists for attacks against pro-lifers.
When approached for comment if the DOJ has a similar list of recent federal prosecutions of cases involving people who have targeted pro-life centers, a spokesperson said "all of our FACE prosecutions are included in this list." The Freedom of Access Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone because that person provides reproductive health care.
A review of 2022 cases on the DOJ list show they all pertain to interference at Planned Parenthood locations or other abortion providers.
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"Despite so much more violence against pro-life advocates, the Biden administration’s sole focus on the very rare violence against pro-choice providers ignores what appears to be a much more prevalent problem," Lott told Fox News Digital.
