This article by Leslie Wolfgang is reprinted below with permission from Live Action News.
Under a statue of Connecticut’s only woman governor, the late pro-life Democrat Ella T. Grasso, the Connecticut Pregnancy Care Coalition and other groups that oppose Roe v. Wade held a press conference on Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Hartford. Their goal was to draw attention to a wave of violence against organizations across the country that assist women experiencing unplanned pregnancies.
Since the premature and unauthorized release of a Supreme Court draft opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women Health Organization on May 2, 2022, according to a tally published by Live Action News, dozens of pro-life locations have been violently attacked, vandalized, and even firebombed.
The draft opinion indicated that Roe v. Wade, the infamous 1973 Supreme Court case that usurped state laws regarding abortion, would be overturned by a majority of the court, returning the creation of abortion law back to individual states. As a draft opinion, the document holds no legal weight, and Justices can change their minds until the official decision is released.
There is no mystery to the purpose of the self-disclosed perpetrators of violence against pro-life groups. Their stated goals, as reported by Live Action News, have been to punish those who oppose Roe v. Wade, to spread and encourage others to be violent, and to intimidate the members of the Supreme Court.
In addition to violence against pregnancy resource centers, incidents of vandalism have sharply risen against Christian churches this Spring. Connecticut Catholic Conference Executive Director Chris Healy warned, “The Catholic Churches of Connecticut are open to all people of good will and that leaves them vulnerable to vandalism and attack. Connecticut has strong protections against hate crimes and has a long history of supporting religious tolerance. We will look toward civil authorities to promptly address any violence against Catholic institutions or even persons that may happen leading up to and after the Dobbs decision.” The participants of today’s press conference each represented different entities that have been victimized by the attacks.
“We are asking Senator Blumenthal, Senator Murphy and all the members of Connecticut’s Congressional Delegation to denounce the recent violence by pro-abortion activists and warn others against doing the same” stated Lisa Maloney, spokesperson for the Connecticut Pregnancy Care Coalition and Executive Director of Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center of Southeast Connecticut.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a supporter of legalized abortion, put forth a 2015 resolution denouncing “attacks on women’s health care centers, providers, and patients” and also declaring “that all women have the right to access reproductive health care services without fear of violence, intimidation, or harassment.”
“It is our hope,” said Peter Wolfgang, Executive Director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, a sister organization to Wisconsin Family Action which was firebombed, “that Senator Blumenthal will also denounce attacks on women who wish *not* to access abortions and only receive the support they deserve when faced with an unexpected crisis.”
“The vast majority of the women who come to our pregnancy resource centers are members of communities that have been the victims of prejudice and violence. The actions of pro-abortion activists and their enablers in reaction to the proposed Dobbs v. Jackson decision and possible overturning of Roe v. Wade is beyond saddening,” stated Maloney. “The incendiary language on the internet, the damage to property and actual violence toward pregnancy resource centers, sends a clear signal to vulnerable women that they may be the victim of more violence at the hands of pro-Roe v Wade activists. There is no other way to look at this other than a further victimization of the women who come to us seeking help in the face of an unexpected pregnancy or other traumatic experience.”
In the 1970s, Governor Grasso stated, ”I do not wish to be a party to killing the children of the poor,” out of concern for impoverished and disenfranchised women who, in 1970s Connecticut, had few alternatives to abortion. The Pregnancy Care Center Coalition and other groups similarly hope pro-abortion leaders will stand to protect women against recent acts of violence and pro-abortion extremism.
