Federal jury now deciding fate of 5 DC pro-life activists.
The Fate of Five Defendants in Abortion Clinic Obstruction Case Now in the Hands of Jury
The fate of five individuals accused of conspiring to obstruct access to an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. is now in the hands of a federal jury. After the prosecution and defense wrapped up their respective cases in federal court last week, the jury began deliberations following closing arguments by attorneys. Each defendant faces up to 11 years in prison if convicted.
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The defendants are charged with “conspiracy against rights” and conspiracy under section 248 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which is part of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. According to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) summary, section 248 states that it is “unlawful for a person to use force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction to intentionally injure or intimidate a person because he or she is or has been obtaining or providing reproductive health services.”
The FACE Act has faced criticism from federal lawmakers, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who claims that the Biden administration selectively enforces the law. In a letter signed by Roy and other lawmakers, they stated that the FACE Act had been used more than two dozen times in 2022 against pro-life activists, but had never been used to indict individuals related to an attack on a pro-life pregnancy center or house of worship.
In 2022, Lauren Handy of Virginia and nine other defendants were indicted for conspiring to obstruct access to the Washington Surgi-Clinic, an abortion provider. The indictment alleges that the purpose of the conspiracy was to create a blockade to stop the clinic from providing reproductive health services. Some in the pro-life movement refer to this tactic as a “rescue” because it may save an unborn human’s life.
The DOJ stated that as part of the conspiracy, seven defendants traveled to Washington, D.C. from various states to participate in a clinic blockade that was broadcast on Facebook. Eight of the defendants forcefully entered the clinic and blockaded two doors using their bodies, furniture, chains, and ropes. Nine defendants allegedly violated the FACE Act by using physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, and interfere with the clinic’s employees and a patient.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $350,000. The trial of Lauren Handy and four other co-defendants—Herb Geraghty, Heather Idoni, William Goodman, and John Hinshaw—began two weeks ago in Washington, D.C.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who was appointed in 1997 by President Bill Clinton, ruled on Aug. 7 that the defendants may not claim in their defense that they took action to shield others from bodily harm. She stated, “A defendant may not don a vigilante’s hood to insert themselves into a situation of their own making and subsequently claim defense of a third person to justify their actions.”
Lauren Handy, the director of activism for Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising, describes the organization’s mission as mobilizing grassroots anti-abortion activists for direct action and educating on the exploitative influence of the Abortion Industrial Complex through an anti-capitalist lens. After being sentenced to jail time on a separate charge in July 2022, Handy expressed her commitment to her beliefs, saying, “As a Catholic and progressive myself, I am compelled by my deeply held beliefs (religious and political) to put my body between the oppressed and the oppressor.”
Handy’s attorney, Martin A. Cannon, senior trial counsel at the Thomas More Society, a public interest law firm, remains cautiously optimistic. He emphasizes that each defendant should be evaluated individually, as the prosecution has been lumping them together. Cannon believes that when examining the evidence, it becomes clear that only a few defendants may have engaged in actions prohibited by the FACE Act.
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