FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
09.17.19
Email: press@equityfwd.org
Phone: (646) 326-4238
ICYMI: Abortion Providers Facing an Increase in Harassment and Violence
Trump administration and allies use hostile and inflammatory rhetoric about abortion
New York, NY – In a comprehensive piece for CBSNews, reporter Kate Smith looked at the increasing harassment and violence faced by abortion providers in the United States.
The National Abortion Federation has tracked violence statistics since 1977 and shows that 2018 was a record high year for incidents against abortion providers and health centers. Providers in Smith’s story feel that 2019 is on track to be even worse.
This uptick comes at a time when Trump administration officials, including Donald Trump himself, have been increasing their rhetoric against providers — and emboldening members of the administration who have made inflammatory statements in the past.
Mary Alice Carter, Senior Advisor for Equity Forward said, “When the president himself lobs violent and inflammatory claims at doctors who provide abortions, it is not surprising that anti-abortion protestors respond. Perpetrators of violence can be influenced by the extremist words and false accusations by those who oppose abortion. And yet, this administration fans the flames.”
Equity Forward has compiled the statements and histories of several members of Trump’s administration — including those who oversee the nation’s health department — who have histories of spewing vitriol against providers, including one top lawyer who was an anti-abortion protestor with more than a dozen run-ins with law enforcement.
Matt Bowman, Senior Advisor To HHS’s Office of Civil Rights, has a decades-long history of protesting outside abortion providers’ homes and health centers, as well as harassing nurses.
Diane Foley, Deputy Assistant Secretary For the Office Of Population Affairs, Compared Abortion To Slavery And The Holocaust. Foley compared abortion to slavery and the Holocaust, stating “that sounds a lot like what our nation went through in the 1800s, right? When somebody decided somebody’s life wasn’t worth living or they weren’t quite as much — they were worth what, three-fifths of a human? Is that right? What about what was happening in Europe during the World Wars, where there were groups of people that were determined they weren’t worth as much?”
Former ORR Director And Senior Advisor At The Center For Faith And Opportunity Initiatives Scott Lloyd Compared Abortion To The Holocaust. “The Holocaust was the violent result of society assigning lesser value to a vulnerable segment of its population. Abortion is the same exact thing. One can argue that we need to protect women, or they should be allowed to do what they want for their bodies. What prevents you from saying that German society needed protection and Germany was allowed to do what they wanted with their society? The Jews who died in the Holocaust had a chance to laugh, play, sing, dance, learn, and love each other. The victims of abortion do not…”
Mike Pence Claimed Democrats Stand “for infanticide and the culture of death” At His 2019 CPAC Address. "With Democrat standing for late-term abortion and infanticide and a culture of death, I promise you this president, this party, & this movement will always stand for the unborn. We will always defend the unalienable right to life."
Pence Also Claimed All Democratic Senators Running For The Presidency In 2020 Support Infanticide. “For all the progress we’re making, tragically, at the very moment when more Americans are embracing the right to life, leading members of the Democratic Party are embracing a radical agenda of abortion on demand…In state legislatures across the country, Democrats have endorsed late-term abortion. The Democrat governor of Virginia openly defends infanticide, and, just four short days ago, Democrats in the Senate – including every Democratic senator running for president – voted against a bill that would prevent newborn babies who survive failed abortions from being killed.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, While Serving as Press Secretary, Said Democrats Have An Agenda To “[Kill] Babies After They Are Born.” “Democrats are harassing the President to distract from their radical agenda of making America a socialist country, killing babies are they’re born, and pushing a ‘green new deal’ that would destroy jobs and bankrupt America.”
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Equity Forward is a watchdog organization that works to ensure transparency and accountability among anti-reproductive health groups and individuals.