A Christian pro-life advocate has been sentenced to nearly five years in an American prison for organising a blockade at an abortion facility in the US capital.
Lauren Handy is from a group called called the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU). She was among nine pro-lifers found guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, also known as the FACE Act.
The Christian Post reports they were accused of using chains, ropes and bike locks to block access to a Washington, D.C. clinic in 2020. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of at least six years for Ms. Handy, claiming she was the “criminal mastermind” behind the blockade. She was given four years and nine months after already serving nine months in custody.
Ms. Handy’s attorney Martin Cannon from Christian legal advocates Thomas More Society compared her actions to the peaceful civil rights protests of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He asserted that: “For her efforts to peacefully protect the lives of innocent preborn human beings, Ms. Handy deserves thanks, not a gut-wrenching prison sentence.”
He argued that the pro-lifer acted on her “good-faith belief that another life was at stake” and that was “important” to consider when determining how much time Ms. Handy should serve in prison. “These are good people who wouldn’t hurt anybody on purpose. Lauren has done enough time. Send Lauren home. Send them all home,” he told the court.
The judge insisted the 30-year-old Catholic was not being punished for her views on abortion or her faith, but for violent conduct which caused injury and distress to clinic staff and patients. “The law does not protect violent and obstructive conduct, nor should it,” she declared in handing down the sentence. In addition to time in prison, Ms. Handy will serve three years of supervised release.
As she was led away, pro-life supporters in the courtroom stood and applauded and shouted: “You’re a hero, Lauren!” PAAU founder Terrisa Bukovinac accused the Biden Administration and US Attorney General Merrick Garland of “reaching a new level of tyranny.” She contended that pro-life advocates face a different level of punishment than activists involved in other social justice movements.
In a statement, a defiant Lauren Handy said: “Life goes on, even in jail. So I might as well continue to love and cry and scream and dance. That is joy. The feeling of being fully alive without shame. Which is something no court can take from me. So today, I am at peace with myself and my future.”
Ms. Handy’s legal team from the Thomas More Society will appeal the sentence and vowed to challenge what it believes is the “root cause” of her conviction — the FACE Act. Her eight convicted colleagues will be sentenced on Friday (May 17).
Photo: Thomas More Society
