CHURCHES AND PRO-LIFE CENTRES ATTACKED AFTER OVERTURN OF ROE V WADE
Violence and vandalism against pro-life institutions
After the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution does not contain a right to abortion, contradicting the benchmark 1973 Roe v Wade verdict, abortion supporters in the US declared a “summer of rage” – which turned into violence and vandalism against pro-life institutions.
Largely unreported in British news media, activists targeted churches and pro-life pregnancy centres across the US, and threatened the safety of the Supreme Court judges who voted in favour of the landmark decision in June.
Protests broke out in major cities immediately after the court’s decision, some turning violent. Rioters damaged a pregnancy centre and businesses in Portland, while the police claimed they “did not have resources” to make arrests, according to The Christian Post. In Arizona, pro-abortion protesters surrounded the state’s Capitol building and the politicians inside said they were not able to reach a safe location until police dispersed the crowd with tear gas.
Pro-abortion protesters surrounded Arizona’s Capitol building
Blue Ridge Pregnancy Centre in Lynchburg, Virginia, was the first pro-life centre to be attacked. Windows were smashed and graffiti daubed on the building. The words ‘Jane’s Revenge’ were spray-painted on the ground outside and the pro-abortion group took credit for the attack. It has previously vandalised several pro-life centres and churches.
Graffiti warned: “If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you”
Tree of Life Pregnancy Centre in Paso Robles, California, also had windows broken and symbols painted on the building, including the letters ‘JR’. Attacks on other pro-life centres included Life Choices in Longmont, Colorado, which was set on fire and vandalised. Graffiti warned: “If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you.”
St John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston, Virginia, was the first of several churches attacked following the ruling – which included an attempt to set fire to the church and graffiti sprayed on the building.
The pro-life Supreme Court judges have also been targeted with threats and intimidation outside their own homes. Abortion activists protested outside the residences of Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett, Samuel Alito, John Roberts and Neil Gorsuch, but the most serious incident was an attempted assassination of Brett Kavanaugh. Police arrested an armed man near Kavanaugh’s home, who wanted to kill him for his pro-life views.
In the UK, Abortion Resistance founder Eden McCourt has been threatened with rape and death for her pro-life stance. McCourt told the Daily Mail: “It is difficult to be pro-life in Britain today. It’s very scary and you’re subjected to a lot of hate.” But she added: “If you can save one life, it’s worth it.”
“Abortion is racist, sexist and ableist”
A spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, criticised the false impression given by pro-abortionists and the media that most women in America support liberal abortion laws, and so the male-dominated Supreme Court is denying ‘the will of the people’ and is anti-women’s rights. She said: “Recent polling shows that 69 per cent of women in the United States believe that there should be significant restrictions on abortion” and “that abortion should be available, at most, during the first three months of pregnancy, allowed only in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother, or never permitted.”
Northern Ireland politician Gemma Brolly welcomed the overturning of Roe v Wade with the words: “Abortion is beyond doubt one of the greatest human rights violations of our generation… Abortion is racist, sexist and ableist… A disproportionate number of babies from ethnic minorities, babies with disabilities and female babies are aborted globally every year.”
COVID ORIGIN COVER-UP ADMITTED
US funded China lab’s research
A federal health official has confirmed that the US government concealed data on Covid-19 origins at the request of Chinese scientists.
The acting director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) admitted to Congress on 11 May that access to the genomic sequences of Covid was restricted at the beginning of the pandemic. The New York Post reported that the data was “eliminated from public view” at the request of Chinese scientists.
The genomic sequences would have helped to confirm whether the virus leaked from a Chinese laboratory or was natural in origin.
According to Life Site News, the director of the Wellcome Trust – a UK-based health research foundation – suspected as early as February 2020 that a lab had “accidentally creat[ed] a virus primed for rapid transmission between humans”. Other scientists privately acknowledged the theory was “likely” but didn’t make it known in order not to undermine “science and international harmony”.
Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee have found “significant circumstantial evidence” that Covid leaked from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and that some of the lab’s research was funded by the US.
EU PARLIAMENT VOTES FOR ABORTION AS A HUMAN RIGHT
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling on member states to make “safe and legal abortion” part of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The 324-155 vote in favour on 7 July came as a direct response to the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
Many conservative and Christian Democrat MEPs voted against the resolution.
Adina Portaru of ADF International, a Christian legal advocacy organisation, said: “The proposed text of this non-binding resolution is fundamentally inaccurate and misleading.
There is no ‘right’ to abortion – on the contrary, Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union upholds the right to life for everyone.”
FOOTBALL COACH WINS HUGE PRAYER CASE
In a big boost for religious freedom, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favour of a Washington State high school football coach who was fired after praying with his players on the field after games.
The school district said coach Joe Kennedy’s prayers violated the First Amendment, which led to a long legal battle that began in 2015. However, in June the Supreme Court ruled the Bremerton School District violated Kennedy’s First Amendment rights.
The majority opinion stated that teachers and students alike still maintain their freedom of speech, even if they are working at a state-funded school. The court reprimanded the local government for trying to punish Kennedy for his religious expression.