After the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention, a pro-life pregnancy center in Chicago was vandalized. Aid for Women is a pro-life nonprofit that was started in 1978. It runs two maternity homes and five pregnancy centers in the Chicago area. Early Friday morning, red paint resembling blood was splattered on one of the Chicago locations. The doors were cemented shut and vandals spray painted the words “fake clinics” and “the dead babies are in Gaza” near the center’s entrance. Because of the vandalism, Aid for Women had to cancel Friday appointments with women seeking assistance.
This was a fitting end to a week when Democrats consistently demonstrated their full-throated and uncompromising support for legal abortion. Planned Parenthood set up a mobile clinic near the convention site to offer free abortions and vasectomies. Media reports indicated that eight women tragically obtained chemical abortions at this facility. Furthermore, multiple convention speakers openly discussed their abortion experiences. Finally, during his acceptance speech, vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz proudly mentioned how that signed legislation supporting legal abortion as governor of Minnesota
Interestingly, Democrats used to be far more moderate in their rhetoric about sanctity-of-life issues. The 2016 convention was the first time that the platform of the Democratic Party called for the repeal of the Hyde amendment. The 2020 party platform was the first time in recent history that the Democratic Party’s platform did not include language about “reducing the need for abortion.” However, this year there was no moderation and no any attempt to engage voters who have misgivings about abortion.
According to CatholicVote.org, there have been 92 attacks on pro-life groups and pregnancy help centers since the leak of the Dobbs decision in May 2022. The FACE Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1994, was supposed to protect churches and pro-life pregnancy centers. However, a vast majority of those prosecuted under the FACE Act have been pro-lifers engaging in civil disobedience. Given that the Department of Justice under the Biden administration has largely turned a blind eye to previous attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers, it is unlikely that it will make this most recent act of vandalism a priority.