Violence against abortion providers has 'skyrocketed' since Roe was overturned: report

11 May 2023

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with its 5-4 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Justice Samuel Alito attacked Roe as an "egregiously wrong" decision that "enflamed debate and deepened division" in the United States. Alito implied by letting individual states decide abortion's legality or illegality, the U.S. could have a more polite debate on the issue.

Some pundits wondered if Dobbs would decrease violence against abortion providers — as abortion opponents would no longer feel so frustrated. But according to Daily Beast reporter Decca Muldowney, the opposite has happened: Post-Roe, Muldowney reports in an article published on May 11, violent attacks on abortion providers have grown even worse.

Citing newly released data by the National Abortion Federation (NAF), Muldowney warns that anti-abortion violence has "skyrocketed." And that includes a "sharp increase" in "abortion-friendly states."

According to Muldowney, "The data, which covers 2022, shows a jump in the number of serious incidents. Burglaries tripled, rising from 13 incidents to 43 incidents year over year, as did stalking incidents, which jumped from 28 reports to 92. There were four arson attacks reported in 2022, double that of the previous year. The new report from NAF puts numbers behind what reproductive rights activists say they've seen since the fall of Roe."

Roe's demise pushed the abortion debate to the forefront in the 2022 midterms, which found Democratic gubernatorial candidates campaigning aggressively on abortion rights and defeating anti-choice Republicans in key swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) ran a very pro-choice campaign and flipped a U.S. Senate seat that had been mostly in GOP hands for decades.

Melissa Fowler, NAF's chief program officer, told the Daily Beast that anti-abortion violence, post-Roe, has been especially bad in states that are more protective of abortion rights.

Fowler explained, "The data is proof of what we have known to be true: anti-abortion extremists have been emboldened by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the cascade of abortion bans that followed. As clinics closed in states with bans, extremists have simply shifted their focus to protective states."

The Daily Beast's full article continues at this link (subscription required).

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