{"id":2036170,"date":"2023-09-18T16:21:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T20:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3-pro-life-advocates-involved-in-abortion-clinic-barricade-convicted-on-face-act-charges\/"},"modified":"2023-09-18T16:25:17","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T20:25:17","slug":"3-pro-life-advocates-involved-in-abortion-clinic-barricade-convicted-on-face-act-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3-pro-life-advocates-involved-in-abortion-clinic-barricade-convicted-on-face-act-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Pro-Life Advocates Convicted for Violating FACE Act in Abortion Clinic Barricade."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/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%2F3-pro-life-advocates-involved-in-abortion-clinic-barricade-convicted-on-face-act-charges%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=2036170&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--><h2>Pro-Life Advocates Convicted for Abortion \u200dClinic Barricade<\/h2>\n<p>Three <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-remember-the-48th-annual-march-for-life\/\" title=\"Americans remember the 48th annual March for Life\">pro-life advocates<\/a> are facing significant prison sentences\u2062 after \u2063being convicted by a federal jury for conspiring to barricade themselves in\u200d a Washington, \u2063D.C.-based abortion clinic \u200bin 2020.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 defendants, Jonathan Darnel, Jean Marshall, and Joan Bell,\u200d were found guilty of felony conspiracy against \u2063rights and a Freedom\u200c of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act \u200boffense. They forcefully entered the Washington Surgi-Clinic and\u2064 blockaded two clinic doors, according to \u200ba Justice Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-dc\/pr\/three-defendants-convicted-federal-civil-rights-conspiracy-and-freedom-access-clinic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This case involves a group of ten pro-life advocates who were arrested and indicted for violating the FACE Act, which makes it a federal crime to \u200cobstruct individuals from obtaining or providing abortion and reproductive \u200bservices.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with Fox News Digital, Darnel expressed\u200d his\u2062 innocence\u2063 and stated that protecting children is \u200can honorable \u200bcause, even if\u2063 he is wrongly convicted.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Justice \u2062presented evidence during the trial \u2062that showed the defendants conspired to block access\u200c to reproductive health services at the\u2063 clinic.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities revealed that Marshall and \u2064Bell traveled to meet Darnel in Washington, D.C., where\u2064 they\u2064 formed the barricade. They live-streamed the\u200d demonstration on Facebook as directed by a co-conspirator.<\/p>\n<p>A video of the demonstration, which showed the\u2063 pro-life advocates praying and singing inside the clinic, was not \u2063allowed as\u200b evidence by U.S.\u200b District Court Judge Colleen\u200b Kollar-Kotelly. She argued\u2064 that their actions were not protected under the First Amendment and\u2063 ordered the \u2063defendants into custody.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200dsentencing date is \u2063yet to be scheduled, but each defendant could face up \u200bto 11 years in\u2063 prison,\u2062 three years of supervised release,\u200d and a fine \u200bof up to $350,000.<\/p>\n<h3>Outrage Over Excessive Charges<\/h3>\n<p>Caroline Taylor \u2063Smith, executive\u200d director of Progressive\u2062 Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU), criticized the charges against the advocates, \u2064stating \u200cthat the demonstrations were \u200bnonviolent. Smith called\u200d the\u2062 actions of Biden&#8217;s\u200d Department of Justice\u2063 an overreach of\u2062 power and urged the repeal of the FACE Act.<\/p>\n<p>In a separate\u2064 case,\u2062 five other pro-life advocates involved in a similar \u200bdemonstration were found guilty in\u200c August. Another \u2062co-defendant pleaded guilty and received a sentence of ten months \u2063of incarceration followed by three years\u2063 of supervised\u2062 release.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2062Washington Surgi-Clinic has\u200c been at the center of controversy. In 2022, a Live Action investigator reported concerning comments and practices\u2063 after posing as\u200c a woman\u200b seeking a late-term abortion. Additionally, pro-life \u200dactivists claimed to have intercepted a box of aborted babies on its way to be incinerated at Curtis Bay\u2064 Medical\u200d Waste\u200c Facility.<\/p>\n<p>While the waste facility\u200d denies these allegations, the convictions of the pro-life advocates highlight the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-life-protester-jailed-in-dc-to-appeal-seeks-to-be-released-pending-sentencing\/\" title=\"Pro-life protester in DC jailed, seeks release pending sentencing, plans to appeal.\">ongoing debate surrounding abortion rights<\/a> and the actions taken by\u200c those on\u2063 both sides of the\u200d issue.<\/p>\n<p><em>Mary Margaret Olohan contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> \u2062 What \u2064implications does this case have for the ongoing \u2063debate between pro-life\u200c and\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/activists-already-licking-their-chops-at-getting-taxpayers-to-pay-for-abortions-amid-potential-biden-admin\/\" title=\"Activists Already Licking Their Chops at Getting Taxpayers To Pay for Abortions Amid Potential Biden Admin\">pro-choice advocates<\/a>, and how can common ground be reached<\/h2>\n<p><span>  The \u200dtrial, \u200bwhich lasted several\u2064 weeks, brought to \u2062light the actions of the defendants and their motive behind barricading\u2062 the clinic. The prosecution argued\u2064 that their actions were a direct violation of women&#8217;s rights to access \u2064safe and legal abortion \u2063services.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the trial, the defense maintained \u2063that their actions were driven by\u200c their deep-rooted belief in the\u200b sanctity of life and their desire \u2062to protect innocent children. They argued that \u200bthe \u2064law should protect the rights of the unborn\u200c as well, and that their actions were a form of civil disobedience in\u200d order to raise awareness about what they see as the injustice of abortion.<\/p>\n<p>However, the prosecution countered that while the defendants have\u2062 a right to their beliefs, they do not \u200dhave the right to obstruct others from exercising their legal rights. They pointed out that\u200b the \u2062defendants&#8217; actions directly impeded women from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3-pro-life-advocates-involved-in-abortion-clinic-barricade-convicted-on-face-act-charges\/\" title=\"3 Pro-Life Advocates Convicted for Violating FACE Act in Abortion Clinic Barricade.\">accessing vital reproductive healthcare services<\/a> and violated \u200bthe Freedom of Access to \u2062Clinic Entrances Act, which was specifically designed to \u2062protect\u2063 individuals seeking or providing\u2063 abortion services.<\/p>\n<p>The jury, \u2064after carefully considering the evidence, returned a guilty\u200b verdict for all three defendants. The\u200d judge is set to \u200dsentence \u200dthem \u2062in the \u2063coming weeks, and they could potentially face significant \u200dprison sentences.<\/p>\n<p>This case has \u2064sparked intense debate and drawn widespread attention from \u2064both pro-life \u2064and pro-choice advocates. Pro-life advocates argue\u2062 that the defendants should be lauded for their commitment to protecting unborn lives, while pro-choice advocates argue \u2062that their actions were an attack on women&#8217;s \u200crights to make their own reproductive choices.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless \u2064of one&#8217;s personal beliefs on the issue of abortion, it is \u2064essential to recognize that the defendants&#8217; actions crossed the line from peaceful protest to criminal obstruction. While they may believe deeply \u200din their cause,\u2062 they\u2064 must also respect the rights of others\u200b and operate within the boundaries of the\u200b law.<\/p>\n<p>This case serves as a reminder of the ongoing clash between pro-life and\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-dems-unify-on-taxpayer-funded-abortions\/\" title=\"House Dems unify on taxpayer funded abortions\">pro-choice activists<\/a>,\u200b and the importance of finding common ground and respectful dialogue in order to address such a divisive issue. It \u2063also raises important questions about the limits \u200bof civil disobedience and the balance\u200d between personal convictions and societal norms.<\/p>\n<p>As the defendants await their sentencing,\u200c the \u200cdebate over\u2063 abortion rights continues to rage on. It is up\u2063 to policymakers, lawmakers,\u2062 and individuals on both sides of the\u2062 issue to work towards finding common ground and respectful solutions \u2062that respect the rights and autonomy \u2063of all \u2063individuals involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three pro-life advocates, Jonathan Darnel, Jean Marshall, and Joan Bell, were found guilty by a federal jury for conspiring to barricade themselves in a D.C. abortion clinic in 2020. They now face over a decade in prison. Darnel, 41, Marshall, 73, and Bell, 74, hail from Arlington, VA; Kingston, MA; and Montague, NJ, respectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":429,"featured_media":2036171,"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":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2036170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"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\/2036170","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\/429"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2036170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2036170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2036171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2036170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2036170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2036170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}