The final pro-life activist was sentenced Friday to several years in prison for protesting at a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic notorious for performing late-term abortions.
Paulette Harlow, 75, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for violating the Free Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and committing a “conspiracy against rights” during a 2020 protest at the Washington Surgical Clinic. according to The case was filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ). She is the ninth and final activist to be convicted in the past few weeks for protests.
Unlike his co-defendant, who spent months in prison awaiting sentencing, Harlow was under house arrest due to health issues. according to Visit Live Action News, an online news site run by a pro-life organization. Live Action.
Harlow’s attorney, Allen Olenberg, said: Said The statement said Harlow’s health was rapidly deteriorating and that prison life could have a negative impact on her health.
“She cannot survive without the support of her husband, especially,” Ohlenberg said of Harlow, the mother of six children, four adopted, and eight grandchildren, according to the report.
🚨BREAKING: 75-year-old Paulette Harlow has been sentenced to 25 months in prison under the FACE Act for chaining herself to a chair at Cesare Santangelo’s abortion business. She has been on house arrest since her conviction due to health issues, but will soon be entering federal prison.
— Terisa Bukovinac (@Terrisalin) May 31, 2024
8. Paulette Harlow pic.twitter.com/UFt5EkdSXO
— SBA Pro-Life America (@sbaprolife) May 14, 2024
Judge Colleen Coller Kotelly, who presided over the case, also sentenced Harlow to 36 months probation.
RELATED: Republicans express concern over alleged abuse of incarcerated elderly pro-life activist
Eight other pro-life activists was Sentenced In late May, two men were sentenced to years in federal prison for protesting at the Washington Surgical Clinic. Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) activist Lauren Handy, 30, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, with nine months already served deducted. John Hinshaw, 69, was sentenced to 21 months and William Goodman, 54, was sentenced to 27 months, with time served deducted. according to To the Department of Justice.
Jonathan Darnell, a 42-year-old veteran of two Iraq war tours, was sentenced to 34 months in prison, with credit for time served. Pro-life atheist Herb Geraghty was sentenced to 27 months in prison, with credit for time served. Jean Marshall, 74, was sentenced to 24 months in prison and Joan Bell, 76, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, according to the Department of Justice. Heather Idoni, 59, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, minus the nine months she already served for her conviction. She is also scheduled to be sentenced in July for violating the FACE Act in connection with another abortion clinic protest in Tennessee. A tenth activist, Jay Smith, was sentenced to 10 months in prison in March 2023.
President Joe Biden’s Justice Department charged pro-life activists with conspiracy against rights and violating the FACE Act over the protests in March 2022, carrying penalties of up to 11 years in prison and a $350,000 fine. Nine activists other than Smith were convicted in two separate trials. August and September They were arrested in 2023 and immediately taken to prison to await sentencing.
FACE methodprohibit “Threats of violence, obstruction, or damage to property with intent to interfere with reproductive health services” are illegal, and the crime of conspiracy against rights (which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years) makes it unlawful for “two or more persons to agree to injure, threaten, or intimidate any person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege guaranteed by the Constitution or the laws of the United States, or because of the exercise of such a right.” according to To the Department of Justice (Department of Justice).
Related Article — Commentary: Justice Department uses KKK-era charges to extend pro-life activist’s sentence
The Justice Department’s charges were filed the same month that Handy and PAAU’s founder and former executive director, Teresa Bukovinac, were indicted. discovered Approximately 115 bodies of aborted babies dumped in waste bin at Washington Surgical Clinic Five Some of the fetuses may have been aborted or killed after birth in violation of federal law. District of Columbia Metropolitan Police previously told Breitbart News they were investigating the discovery of the babies but were not investigating the clinic’s abortion doctor, Dr. Cesare Santangelo.
Prosecutors alleged that activists blocked the abortion clinic, barricading it with chains and locks, injuring a nurse in the process and preventing women from entering the clinic through the main entrance.
“Some people knelt in prayer at the Santangelo facility, some distributed pro-life literature and counseled women considering abortions, and some were chained or tied to ropes inside the facility,” said the Handys’ lawyers, who are with the Thomas More Society, which also represents other pro-life activists. Mark Hack and David Daleiden.
RELATED: DC inspector halts plan to dispose of late-term aborted fetuses after pressure campaign
Supreme Court Dobbs decisionThe Department of Justice has prosecuted more pro-life activists than pro-abortion activists under the FACE Act, despite an investigation by FBI Director Christopher Wray. admit In November 2022, roughly 70% of abortion-related violence threats in the United States will be Dobbs He has opposed pro-life organizations.
Vanita Gupta, Deputy Attorney General Hospitalized At the 65th anniversary ceremony of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in December, Roe v. Wade He emphasized the “urgency” of the Department of Justice’s efforts, including “enforcing the FACE Act to ensure continued lawful access to reproductive services.”
Buffalo, New York: A local office for pregnancy support center CompassCare was firebombed and destroyed in the June 7 attack. The sign read, “Jane Was Here.” #Antifa Jane’s Revenge, a terrorist group whose manifesto promises further attacks. https://t.co/yRgIy9NwPZ pic.twitter.com/4iilspFBdA
— Andy Ngo 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) June 7, 2022
Outside dozens And dozens Attacks on pregnancy centers Dobbs Only a handful of pro-abortion activists have been arrested since the leak, including Florida, new yorkand Ohio.
When questioned by Republicans about this apparent enforcement discrepancy in March 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland said: Claimed Pro-life activists are often prosecuted for crimes committed during “daylight” hours, while pro-abortion activists tend to strike at night.
Some pro-life activists and Republicans call The Biden administration has called for the repeal of the FACE Act, arguing that the 1994 law has repeatedly been used as a weapon against political opponents.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X. Follow.
