Multiple pro-life organizations are criticizing a jury decision that found Lauren Handy, a pro-life activist, guilty on all counts for her protest outside an abortion clinic in 2020.
The Department of Justice charged Handy, as well as activists John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, Will Goodman and Herb Geraghty, in March 2022 for violating the Freedom of Access To Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The FACE Act prohibits, “threats of force, obstruction and property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services.” Handy and fellow activists had entered Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C. in 2020 by scheduling an appointment under a false name and then roping off the entrance of the clinic.
“This is a shameful day for a nation founded on unalienable rights, first and foremost including life. Pro-life advocates like Lauren Handy have put their freedom on the line — peacefully and bravely — to protect babies and women from the brutality of abortion,” SBA Pro-Life America said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller.
“They have done a vital public service in exposing the horrors of late-term abortion taking place in D.C., where there are no limits on abortion up to birth, and across the country. They have kept the memory of abortionist Cesare Santangelo’s victims alive, including five fully developed babies that were likely killed in illegal partial-birth abortions or delivered alive and left to die, then placed in a box and headed for the incinerator as ‘medical waste,’” SBA Pro-Life America continued.
Handy allegedly took the remains of 115 fetuses with her when she entered the Washington, D.C. clinic, in order to provide them with a “Catholic burial.” Five of the unborn babies appeared to have been delivered and left to die after a failed abortion attempt, according to Live Action. The bodies were turned over to the police who have yet to take any action against the alleged infanticide. (RELATED: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Breaks Down While Sharing Photos Of Aborted Full-Term Babies)
“From the beginning, this trial has been a sham with a completely biased pro-abortion judge who has made a mockery of our justice system. This decision will be appealed, and we demand it be overturned. These activists are heroes, and the Department of Justice has acted capriciously and illegitimately,” Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, said in a statement provided to the Caller.
Lauren Handy has taken the stand this morning telling her compelling story of going from a college Art History major to fill-time pro-life activist and how that journey began after seeing the undercover video of abortionist Santangelo saying he’d leave a baby born alive to die.
— Terrisa Bukovinac (@Terrisalin) August 22, 2023
“These charges stem from the FACE Act, which exists to target and chill the free speech of pro-life Americans. Their acts of bravery to protect innocent human life from notorious D.C. abortionist Cesare Santangelo have been punished by the corrupt DOJ. Santangelo’s Washington Surgi-Clinic is known for being a late-term abortion facility, surgically killing babies that are well past viability outside of their mother, and Santangelo has even been caught on camera by Live Action stating his willingness to withhold medical care from infants born alive after a botched abortion, a violation of federal law,” the statement continued.
Handy and her fellow activists face a potential “maximum sentence of of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $350,000,” according to the DOJ.
The Washington Surgi-Clinic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.