Firebombs, vandalism and deadly threats: pro-abortion activists have attacked at least 63 pro-life organizations since the Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v Wade was leaked to the public in May.
A new report from the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) reveals the details of this wave of violence as well as a failure by federal authorities to condemn it, creating a “permissive” environment that could lead to an escalation of assaults.
The attacks have spanned 26 states as well as Washington, DC and have included graffiti, threatening messages,and arson.
RFI enlisted the help of a former FBI counter-terrorism and intelligence expert to assess the crimes and provide a forecast for pro-life organizations.
The report highlights how government officials have minimized or ignored these attacks.
“What’s been so striking to us is the non-response,” said Nathaniel Hurd, senior fellow for public policy at RFI.
Hurd said that while local law enforcement, the FBI, Dept. of Justice and Homeland Security have been investigating some of the cases, top leadership has said very little.
“The only public statements that I’m aware of in response to these attacks has been when they’ve been asked about it from members of Congress in congressional hearings or through other congressional oversight,” said Hurd.
Anne O’Connor, lead counsel for NIFLA, a national organization for crisis pregnancy centers, said the lack of condemnation by authorities has been shocking.
“We could surmise that if 50 Planned Parenthoods had been vandalized, fire bombed, there would probably be an uproar about it,” she said.
O’Connor told CBN News that, to her knowledge, authorities have yet to make an arrest in any of these cases.
CBN News asked the FBI to comment on suspects and arrests, but received no update, only a statement acknowledging ongoing investigations.
The RFI report also reveals a wave of assaults on Catholic sites with more than 30 churches that have been attacked since the Dobbs leak. Half of them show abortion as the motive.
While President Biden has yet to publicly comment on the crimes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed a reporter’s question about them. “This talk of politicizing all this is something I think uniquely American and not right,” she said.
Vice President Kamala Harris has gone so far as to suggest that faith should not inform a person’s views on abortion. Speaking at the National Baptist Association in Houston last week she said, “One does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held religious beliefs to agree that a woman should have the ability to make decisions about her own body.”
The RFI report predicts more attacks and urges pro-life organizations and churches to re-evaluate security and strengthen relationships with law enforcement.
“If people who want to harm pro-lifers, who want to burn down their pregnancy centers, who want to do physical harm and violence to the staff and volunteers—if they think they can do this and get away with this—more and more of them will,” said Hurd.
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN