Emma Colton at Fox News has a news story up today about our new research about violence against pro-life and pro-choice groups.
EXCLUSIVE: There have been 22 times more attacks against pro-life groups since the leak in early May of a draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade compared to attacks on pro-choice organizations, new data show.
“The overwhelming narrative in the media is the claim those on the right are responsible for most of the politically motivated violence in the U.S. It has been a theme in the news media after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision was leaked, with many claiming that there was disproportionate violence against pro-choice providers. But a review of cases shows over 22 times more violence against pro-life advocates,” John Lott, the founder and president of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), told Fox News Digital on Monday.
Following the unprecedented leak on May 2 detailing that the Supreme Court had a majority of justices ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, headlines warned that pro-choice supporters and organizations would likely face an increase in attacks. A report from the National Abortion Federation found there was an increase in attacks against pro-choice organizations and supporters in 2021, which experts projected would only get worse following the Roe leak and the eventual confirmation that the nation’s highest court effectively ended the recognition of abortion as a constitutional right.
Though the data show there were a handful of attacks from May 3 to Sept. 24 of this year against pro-choice groups and supporters, the number was dwarfed by attacks against pro-life centers.
A research team at CPRC found there were 135 attacks against pro-life organizations and supporters compared to six attacks on pro-choice groups and supporters.
“The media has uncritically accepted pro-choice claims of violence without asking for a list of cases,” Lott said.
Attacks on pro-life centers exploded soon after the historic leak in early May. In June, the radical abortion group Jane’s Revenge even took credit for some attacks and declared it “open season” on pro-lifers.
“From here forward, any anti-choice group who closes their doors, and stops operating will no longer be a target. But until you do, it’s open season, and we know where your operations are,” a letter from Jane’s Revenge dated June 14 reads.
CPRC compiled a spreadsheet of such attacks allegedly carried out by Jane’s Revenge members and other abortion supporters. The list includes graffiti attacks on pro-life offices, a center that was “firebombed” in Buffalo, New York, Catholic churches that were vandalized and even ignited on fire. The list also includes church worship and Catholic Masses that were interrupted by abortion rights advocates, including in June when women stripped during a service at Joel Osteen’s church in Houston and shouted “Overturn Roe, Hell No.”
For attacks on pro-choice members, compiling the data was not as easy, according to CPRC. Research members reached out to the National Abortion Federation for data on 2022 attacks – citing that the organization tracked such incidents in 2021 – but were directed to the DC Abortion Fund. The DC Abortion Fund did not respond to numerous requests for data, according to the CPRC report.
“We obtained the cases from news searches and various sources, but the pro-abortion organizations refused to respond to repeated requests for additional cases despite efforts over three weeks,” CPRC said in its report released this week.
Fox News Digital also reached out the DC Abortion Fund and National Abortion Federation for data and comment, but did not receive a reply by time of publishing. . . .
Emma Colton, “Data show there have been 22 times more attacks on pro-lifers than pro-choice groups since Supreme Court leak,” Fox News, November 1, 2022.
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