DA Chesa Boudin has charged three anti-abortion crusaders for allegedly crashing a women’s clinic and recording patients, and then flyering a doctor’s neighborhood with handbills that exposed that clinician’s name and address.
Here in San Francisco, the often-cruel antics of anti-abortion trolls have generally been mild compared to the flat-out domestic terrorism of arson, bombings, and sometimes even murders seen elsewhere in the country. Sure, we’ve seen the shouting matches outside Planned Parenthood, there’s that pro-lifer march every January, and perhaps the occasional nutjob scaling the Salesforce Tower in the name of the cause.
But things took a much uglier turn recently in San Francisco, according to the Chronicle, as District Attorney Chesa Bouin charged three anti-abortion activists Thursday for breaking into USCF, recording patients, and doxxing a clinician with flyers all over the doctor’s neighborhood detailing their home address and image.
“Reproductive rights are under attack across the country—and here in San Francisco. Right here in our city, doctors who provide critical health care along with vulnerable patients are being stalked at their homes and places of work,” Boudin said in a statement. “My office will unconditionally protect all medical providers and women who exercise their constitutional right to seek abortion or other reproductive health care.”
That statement was provided to SFist, as well as visual evidence of these alleged harassment incidents, which reportedly occurred two months ago at a local hospital. “On March 13, [suspect Aaron Jonathan] Hurley and others are alleged to have defaced and damaged a bronze statue of the Madonna and Child at the hospital, covering it with fake blood and stickers with the doctor’s name on it,” according to the release. “There were also handwritten notes that said ‘harvested’ and the phrase ‘sold $500.’”
The charges allege they were just getting started, and the next day, one activist posed as a decoy to help the others break into a UCSF women’s clinic. “When a nurse went to speak to her at the door, Mr. Hurley and other trespassers came out from hiding and ran through the door,” the release adds. “They barged into the clinic and began filming patients and staff. Staff reported that these protesters were attempting to barge into operating rooms.
“Mr. Hurley and others are alleged to have entered the clinic where the victim works, chanting the doctor’s name and, ‘We know who you are, we know what you do,’ leading the victim and staff to be terrified for their safety and the safety of their patients.”
Later that evening, allegedly, the group visited the doctor’s neighborhood and coated the streets with flyers announcing “There’s a killer in your neighborhood” along with a QR code that generated the doctor’s name, image, and address. The QR code appears to no longer work, but SFist had cropped out that section of the flyer to be on the safe side.
The above-named Hurley is a Los Angeles resident, and has been charged with felony stalking, misdemeanor obstructing freedom of access to a clinic, misdemeanor vandalism charges, misdemeanor trespassing with intent to interfere and misdemeanor interfering with a business. He was scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon.
Two other accomplices were also named. An arrest warrant is pending for a Lauren Brice Handy. “Another suspect, Kristen Turner, was cited and released,” according to the announcement. All are affiliated with something called Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising — the same group whose Washington, D.C chapter has a member who had five fetuses found in her home in a very bizarre April incident….
The above comes from a May 19 story on sfist.
Praise God Cordileone has finally stated that you can’t be an abortion-supporting Democrat and a Catholic.
Archbishop Cordileone has finally banned Pelosi from receiving Holy Communion. The faith is still alive in San Francisco.
Very telling who the SF DA chooses to go after. Must be because SF is otherwise peaceful, clean and safe. Right?
I don’t think this type of action helps the pro-life cause. It just gives fodder for the left and pro-death people to paint the pro-life people into a corner. I’m curious to know the response of the people who did the action. Why did they do this action? How does it further the pro-life cause. The Walk for Life West Coast and the places that have this type of protest are effective because they are peaceful and joyous. I believe this type of protest is the type of protest we want to see. Recently there was a video of a prolife drummer in Chicago assaulted. I have seen this drum squad positively send a message of love and life to people. That’s what we want and need. We need to continue to use the tactics of love.
I’ll wait and see what “this type of action” really was. Boudin has shown himself a biased and slothful prosecutor in too many cases to let me banish the words “show trial” from my mind just yet. The abolitionists of course engaged in activities not to be supported (like John Brown’s Kansas raids). In any case, I’ll judge any evidence for myself.
It seems so unlikely that the anti_ abortion protestors would be so unaware as to alienate all sides of the abortion issue by destroying a madonna and child statue, a symbol of pro-life belidf for many who are not even religious. Was some of the ” evidence possibly staged by the left, if not in fact the whole raid?
It also seems terribly unlikely that there would even be a stature of the Madonna and Christ Child in a place where babies are being aborted unless it is a set up. The last thing abortionists want women to think about are those babies they are going to kill, so why would they even want a reminder of a baby there. The whole thing makes no sense at all.
There is no constitutional right to seek an abortion, Mr. Boudin.
There is until/unless the Supreme Court says there isn’t.
Red-diaper baby Chesa Boudin is a Communist revolutionary, the son of Weather Underground terrorists and convicted cop killers David Gilbert and Kathy Boudin, and stepson of unconvicted cop killers and terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.
He worked for Communist dictator Hugo Chavez. He is named for Black Liberation Army cop killer Joanne Chesimard who escaped to Cuba.
Seems staged to me.
I find it disconcerting that so many who write here use hate-filled missives and names to make their point. How juvenile and unlike so many good Catholic voices who speak from their heart filled with love but a keen sense to show their point without being dogmatically judgmental of anyone else. Egregiously it’s somehow comforting for some here to believe that all those who seek an abortion MUST be doing so out of spite, lacking in empathy, etc. Yet I’ve met few women who were obtaining an abortion for such reasons – the vast majority contemplate long and hard about their decision (note: THEIR decision), and most if not all are reminded of having to make that decision, and yes, to a certain degree, regretting it, but not in the manner you might want to believe.
Michael as admitted non-Catholic I find your opinion of other Catholics to be irrelevant. “being dogmatically judgmental ” as crucifix before Dracula, words like dogma and judgement make the leftist cringe in fear. Two words that signify clarity and Truth, another word leftists detest.
I see no reason to trust the SFist as a good source for news. Neither do I take the words of Boudin as truth. However, I agree that if these tactics were used as described, it is not what the majority of pro-life people would support. Peaceful protest and prayer with charity works best always.