A prominent pro-abortion rights advocacy group said that there was a "sharp increase" in crimes committed against abortion clinics since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year and amid a string of violent attacks against crisis pregnancy centers.
The report from the National Abortion Federation, which relies on self-reported data from abortion clinics, said that the increase was primarily restricted to states where abortion remains legal. The group's report said that "stalking" incidents increased from eight in 2021 to 81 last year, while "obstructions" jumped from 45 to 287, bomb threats from three to seven, burglaries from five to 10, and assaults from seven to nine.
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“The data is proof of what we have known to be true: Anti-abortion extremists have been emboldened by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the cascade of abortion bans that followed," National Abortion Federation Chief Program Officer Melissa Fowler said. "As clinics closed in states with bans, extremists have simply shifted their focus to protective states, where our members have reported major increases in assaults, stalking, and burglaries."
While the group highlighted the number of crimes purportedly made against abortion clinics, the report also attempted to downplay a wave of attacks perpetrated against pregnancy resource centers that do not provide abortions. A number of churches have faced similar acts of vandalism.
"The well-organized extremist violence against abortion providers should not be conflated with acts of vandalism against fake clinics," the report read. "And many of the individuals and politicians who are suddenly concerned about the violence against these buildings have been silent for decades as medical providers have been stalked and murdered for doing their jobs — and some of those same people who are outraged now have even encouraged that violence against abortion providers."
The wave of attacks against pregnancy resource centers began after Politico published a leaked draft opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that presaged the impending downfall of Roe, and it has included several incidents of arson.
The political advocacy organization Catholic Vote says that 154 churches, along with 86 pregnancy centers and anti-abortion organizations, have faced attacks since the court's opinion was leaked in May 2022. The group only tracks incidents of vandalism, property damage, or arson.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Catholic Vote President Brian Burch said that if the group tracked the same range of crimes as the National Abortion Federation, the number of incidents would be far higher.
"Politically inspired violence is always wrong," Burch said. "Every American deserves to be protected from violence, regardless of your views on abortion. The plain fact is that pro-life Americans, including Catholic churches and pregnancy resource centers, are the primary target of abortion-inspired violence. Were churches and clinics to include 'obstruction' or 'stalking' 'disruption' or 'threats' of harm, the numbers would be staggering."
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Burch criticized President Joe Biden and other abortion rights supporters for attempting to hide the number of attacks against churches and pregnancy centers, and he said the federal government was ignoring their plight.
"President Biden and his allies continue to work overtime to both conflate and hide these facts, while ignoring the growing pattern of pro-abortion terrorism on the rise everywhere," Burch said. "The victims of these hate crimes are vulnerable women and innocent churchgoers that can no longer trust that their government will protect them."