{"id":2008916,"date":"2023-08-23T04:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-23T08:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-lifers-could-face-11-years-in-prison-for-trying-to-protect-innocents-from-harm\/"},"modified":"2023-08-23T04:06:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T08:06:00","slug":"pro-lifers-could-face-11-years-in-prison-for-trying-to-protect-innocents-from-harm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-lifers-could-face-11-years-in-prison-for-trying-to-protect-innocents-from-harm\/","title":{"rendered":"Pro-life advocates may face up to 11 years in jail for defending the vulnerable from harm."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpro-lifers-could-face-11-years-in-prison-for-trying-to-protect-innocents-from-harm%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2008916&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Last week, a judge \u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wusa9.com\/article\/news\/crime\/judge-bars-vigilante-defenses-ahead-of-anti-abortion-activists-trial-lauren-handy-heather-idoni-herb-geraghty-fetuses-conspiracy-against-rights\/65-9e732e8f-37cb-4059-9591-8703c865b792\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> that defendants \u2064on \u200dtrial in Washington, D.C., this month for obstructing\u2062 access to an abortion facility in 2020 cannot claim as their defense that they were acting to protect others from bodily harm.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cA defendant may not don a vigilante\u2019s hood to insert themselves \u2062into a\u2062 situation of their own making and \u200csubsequently claim defense of a third person to justify their \u200cactions,\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.241678\/gov.uscourts.dcd.241678.353.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">three-page \u200dorder<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-978458337\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5378204f4623fa4a6c2565d43be879a2 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5378204f4623fa4a6c2565d43be879a2\"><\/div>\n<p>But is the \u200cidea that abortion ends the life of another\u2063 human being \u201ca situation of [a defendant\u2019s] own making\u201d? Or is it a fact? That\u2019s a\u200d question Louis C. K. surprisingly explored in his Netflix special \u201c2017,\u201d when he made viral comments about the extreme tactics pro-life activists\u2063 sometimes use to convince expectant mothers not \u2064to pursue the procedure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey think babies are being murdered,\u201d \u200dhe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=o3LKXMsw6N8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explained<\/a> in \u2064the show\u2019s opening. \u201cWhat are\u2064 they supposed \u2064to be like?\u200c \u2018Uh, \u2062that\u2019s not \u2063cool. I don\u2019t wanna be\u200c a dick\u200c about it, though. I don\u2019t want \u200cto ruin their day as they murder several babies all the time.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s\u2064 in that spirit that \u206310 pro-life activists entered \u2064an \u200dabortion\u200b facility in D.C. in \u20632020 and, in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/nine-defendants-indicted-federal-civil-rights-conspiracy-and-freedom-access-clinic-entrances\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">words of\u2064 the Department of Justice \u200b(DOJ)<\/a>,\u200c \u201cforcefully entered the clinic and set about blockading two clinic doors using their bodies, furniture, \u200dchains and ropes.\u201d Accompanying Lauren Handy, the lead defendant in the case, the other nine include Jonathan Darnel of Virginia, Herb Geraghty of Pennsylvania, Jay Smith and John\u2062 Hinshaw of New York, Paulette \u2062Harlow and Jean Marshall of Massachusetts, Heather\u200b Idoni and William Goodman of Wisconsin, and \u2064Joan Bell of New Jersey.  <\/p>\n<p>Nine of those defendants \u2064now face a two-count federal \u200cindictment. (Smith, under pressure from federal investigators, accepted a plea deal and \u200dreceived a 10-month sentence.)\u2062 Charged with conspiracy against federal civil rights, as well as \u2062violation of the \u200dFreedom\u200d of\u2063 Access\u200c to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, the defendants each face up\u2064 to a maximum of 11 years in prison, three \u200cyears of supervised release, and fines of up to $350,000.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d85990d0965012a790229bf10d9e158d fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d85990d0965012a790229bf10d9e158d\"><\/div>\n<p>The question of whether the nine are guilty hinges,\u2064 of \u200ccourse, on one\u2019s answer \u200cto Louis C. K.\u2019s question: Does abortion actually end a \u2064child\u2019s life? The\u200d judge has already signaled her \u200bopinion, suggesting the defendants\u2019 behavior constitutes vigilantism imposed onto narratives of their own creation.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does the Punishment Fit the Crime?<\/h2>\n<p>But the judge\u2019s\u2063 conclusion, whether true or false, raises more questions. \u2062For\u200d example, even if one agrees with her that there\u2019s\u200b no\u2063 \u201cthird\u2063 person\u201d in \u200dneed of defense in abortions \u2014 \u200ca contention which\u200d the \u200bdefendants fiercely dispute \u2014\u200c does the\u200b punishment\u200d fit the so-called crime?<\/p>\n<p>Eleven years is a long time. In previous years, pro-life activists convicted\u2062 of similar behavior \u2062have often received one-, three-, and six-month sentences, avoiding longer sentences on the technicality that they have \u200cnot blocked entrances to the facilities, which the \u2063FACE Act specifically prohibits. Father \u200dFidelis Moscinski, \u2064for example, is currently finishing a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifesitenews.com\/news\/pro-life-heroes-fr-fidelis-laura-gies-sentenced-for-obstruction-trespassing-over-red-rose-rescue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">three-month sentence<\/a> \u200c in Nassau County for entering an abortion facility on Long Island and\u200b providing \u200croses \u200band counsel for expectant mothers.<\/p>\n<p>By the standard \u2064of \u2062Moscinski\u2019s \u2063current sentence\u2062 (and the fact that no \u200done\u2019s been seriously injured by the defendants\u2019 actions), 11\u2062 years seems extreme. But \u2062it\u2019s becoming increasingly clear that through the application of the \u2062FACE Act, disproportion and immoderation are par for the course for a DOJ that\u2019s excessively punitive toward\u2064 pro-life Americans.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8406c461f9caf526949ed9a71ce7684b fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-8406c461f9caf526949ed9a71ce7684b\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Double Standard<\/h2>\n<p>At\u200b the\u200d same time, \u200dthe FACE Act should also \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-lifers-could-face-11-years-in-prison-for-trying-to-protect-innocents-from-harm\/\" title=\"Pro-life advocates may face up to 11 years in jail for defending the vulnerable from harm.\">theoretically \u2063protect pro-life\u200d pregnancy centers<\/a> and their providers. Yet it has seldom\u200b been used \u2064by the current \u2064administration for\u200b those purposes \u2014\u2064 a \u200dcharge which has led some to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/crime-and-justice\/event\/the-department-justice-abusing-the-face-act-silence-pro-life-advocates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">question<\/a> whether the DOJ is \u201cabusing the FACE Act to silence pro-life advocates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rep. \u2064Chip Roy of Texas is one such questioner. \u201cIn 2022, \u2064the FACE Act was used\u200c more than two dozen times against \u2063pro-life activists including Mark Houck, Father Fidelis Moscinski, Lauren Handy, Herb \u2062Geraghty, and a Holocaust survivor,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/roy.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/roy.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/defund-face-act-appropriations-letter.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> in March\u200d 2023 in a letter signed by a handful\u2062 of\u2064 other lawmakers. \u201cPrior to \u2063this year, the\u00a0FACE Act had never\u00a0been used to indict individuals related to an attack on\u200b a pro-life\u200d pregnancy center or \u200bhouse of worship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2023\/04\/03\/exclusive-lawmakers-call-defund-face-act\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">also \u2063noted<\/a> that the\u2063 DOJ charged at least 26 pro-life Americans in 2022 with \u2062FACE Act violations, and zero <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-unorthodox-pro-life-bills-advancing-in-state-legislatures\/\" title=\"Five Unorthodox Pro-Life Bills Advancing In State Legislatures\">pro-abortion activists<\/a>, even though at least 88 pro-life \u2063resource centers and groups have been attacked since May\u2062 2022,\u200b according to Catholic Vote\u2019s\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/catholicvote.org\/pregnancy-center-attack-tracker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tracker<\/a>, in connection with the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/us-abortion-rights-activists-start-summer-rage-with-saturday-protests-2022-05-14\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">summer of\u2062 rage<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Such imbalances notwithstanding, the defendants in\u200b <em>United States \u200bof America v. \u2062Lauren Handy, \u200bet al.<\/em> \u2062 remain optimistic, even \u200bseeing a potential sentence as part \u200dof their mission. \u201cFrom\u200d Handy\u2019s point of view, her incarcerations are not an interruption \u200cof her rescue work but a \u200ccontinuation of it,\u201d Leah Libresco\u200d Sargeant <a href=\"https:\/\/comment.org\/red-rose-rescue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> in a beautiful essay in June.<\/p>\n<p>Others point out that a potential \u2062sentence, while perhaps unjust, can raise awareness.\u2062 \u201cThis trial is in fact about the due process and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/calif-high-school-athletes-sue-for-right-to-play-indoor-sports\/\" title=\"Calif. high school athletes sue for right to play indoor sports\">equal protection rights<\/a>\u200b of human persons living in the womb,\u201d Goodman, one \u200cof the defendants, told \u2063me via email. \u201cWe are\u2063 honored to bring their voices to the federal courts and fight this administration\u2019s conspiracy of silence against our \u2063helpless sisters and brothers. If the judge ignores the babies and\u200b sends \u200bus to prison,\u200d we will continue our mission to be a voice for the voiceless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But still, he maintains, they shouldn\u2019t have to. \u201cOurs\u200c were not the actions of \u2018extremists,\u2019\u201d he pointed out. \u201cRather, we chose an ordinary, proportionate response to a human life who is in immediate danger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Until Americans contend seriously with the \u200cquestion Louis C. K. raised\u200c \u2014\u2064 however irreverently \u2064he\u2062 raised it \u2014 judges \u200dwill have discretion to punish \u2064activists \u200cwho peacefully protest\u200d an industry \u200bthe FACE\u2063 Act protects, even while applying the law lopsidedly.\u200c In the meantime, the outcome of the current case will signal to what extent pro-life defendants will be punished \u2064for protesting what they see as an unjust law that violates the\u200b most vulnerable, helpless victims.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDraconian federal punishments like these against peaceful Americans have not\u2064 been used since members of the\u200c underground\u200d railroad worked to free innocent people from bondage \u200band were thus\u200b charged under the enormously unjust Fugitive Slave Act,\u201d \u2063Goodman said. \u201cThe FACE Act is\u200c a similar tool of legal injustice instrumentalized to protect violence \u2064and those who perpetrate it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9de47b31b030436976c37498f2e559b1 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-9de47b31b030436976c37498f2e559b1\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, a judge in Washington, D.C., barred defendants on trial for obstructing access to an abortion facility in 2020 from using the defense of protecting others from harm. The judge stated that defendants cannot act as vigilantes and involve themselves in situations of their own accord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1528,"featured_media":2008917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2008916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1528"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2008916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2008917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}