FACT BRIEF

Has there been a spate of property damage to anti-abortion organizations following the overturning of Roe v. Wade?

Thursday, June 30, 2022

By Austin Tannenbaum

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

YES

Certain pro-abortion individuals and groups have made a coordinated effort to damage the property of churches, crisis pregnancy centers and other anti-abortion organizations following the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion and eventual overturning of Roe v. Wade. On June 14, the militant pro-abortion organization Jane's Revenge, which has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks, declared "open season" on "anti-choice groups."

Estimates of the number of incidents vary. In a June 15 open letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, 126 members of Congress requested that the Justice Department treat such attacks as acts of domestic terrorism, citing 14 examples from the past two months. In a more expansive list, the National Catholic Register documented 49 such acts of vandalism as of June 30.

Anti-abortion individuals and groups, for their part, have a history of attacking abortion clinics, including "11 murders, 42 bombings, 196 arsons, 491 assaults, and thousands of incidents of criminal activities directed at patients, providers, and volunteers," according to the National Abortion Federation. The federation noted a "significant increase" in "violence and disruption against abortion providers" in 2021.

Sources

Rep. Daniel Webster The Honorable Merrick B. Garland

The Anarchist Library Jane's Revenge: Another Communiqué

Family Research Council Attacks on Churches, Pro-Life Organizations, Property, and People Since the Dobbs Leak on May 2, 2022 (as of 6/30/22)

National Abortion Federation National Abortion Federation Releases 2021 Violence & Disruption Report

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.