EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Introduce Legislation To Increase Penalties For Those Who Attack Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers

Republican New York Rep. Claudia Tenney introduced legislation Thursday that would make sure pro-life pregnancy centers and places of worship are protected from activists, and would increase the penalties for attackers.

The legislation, first obtained by the Daily Caller, is titled the Pregnancy Resource Center Defense Act and is companion legislation to the same bill introduced by Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley. The bill would increase criminal penalties from a misdemeanor to a felony for first-time offenses. Also, the bill would increase the criminal fine from $10,000 to $25,000.

In Washington, D.C., the Capitol Hill Crisis Pregnancy Center was vandalized in June 2022. In Amherst, New York, a CompassCare Pregnancy Services location was set on fire as more pro-life pregnancy centers and Christian churches have been vandalized. (RELATED: Pro-Abortion Arsonists Have Firebombed Three Pro-Life Groups In A Month)

The Pregnancy Resource Center Defense Act would also guarantee pregnancy resource centers and religious facilities that successfully sue will receive no less than $20,000, which is $10,000 more than the current levels. It would also impose a 7-year mandatory minimum when attacks involve arson, which is an increase from the current 5-year mandatory minimum.

“Pro-life pregnancy centers provide lifesaving care to pregnant women in need. Radical pro-abortion terrorists have been targeting these pregnancy centers and Houses of Worship across the country in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe,” Tenney told the Daily Caller before introducing the legislation.

READ THE BILL HERE: 

(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers

“In New York, CompassCare Pregnancy Services was recently firebombed because of its work to protect life. This is unacceptable. Today, I am standing up to say enough. Those who support life should never be under threat in America,” Tenney added. (RELATED: Armed Man Arrested Near Brett Kavanaugh’s House Said He Wanted To Kill Him: REPORT)

The bill has four original cosponsors including West Virginia Rep. David McKinley, Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, Kansas Rep. Tracey Mann, and North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn.

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