Man upset about Supreme Court abortion ruling defaces crisis pregnancy centers, feds say

Kate Linderman, The Charlotte Observer on Jan 17, 2025

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A man defaced two crisis pregnancy centers in Texas in light of the leaked Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court draft opinion that indicated the high court was going to turn abortion decisions back to the states in 2022, federal prosecutors said.

He took a can of spray paint to the two centers in Denton in May 2022, writing phrases including “not a clinic,” “forced birth is murder” and “pro birth (does not equal) pro life,” according to court documents.

The man, who was 23 at the time of the accused crime, pleaded guilty to violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, the Department of Justice said in a Jan. 16 news release.

His attorney declined to comment on the case to McClatchy News on Jan. 17.

The FACE Act “prohibits a person from intentionally damaging or destroying the property of a facility because that facility provides reproductive health services,” federal prosecutors said.

Loreto House Pregnancy Resource Center and Woman to Woman Pregnancy Resource Center were listed as the two facilities targeted by the man in 2022, according to court documents. In addition to writing phrases on the properties, he also spray painted the security cameras outside Loreto House Pregnancy Resource Center so they could not be used, prosecutors said.

Crisis pregnancy centers differ from clinics such as Planned Parenthood or primary care facilities, according to the American Medical Association.

“Crisis pregnancy centers are organizations that seek to intercept women with unintended pregnancies who might be considering abortion” according to the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics. “They are exempt from regulatory, licensure, and credentialing oversight that apply to health care facilities.”

The man said he vandalized the facilities because “both facilities provide reproductive health services that I opposed,” according to court documents filed on Jan. 15.

“I was angered by the United States Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which previously provided Constitutional protections for abortion services,” he said, according to court documents.

The draft opinion hinting that the high court would overturn Roe v. Wade leaked a month before the official decision was announced, which turned the decision on abortion bans and restrictions back to the states, according to the Supreme Court.

The man faces up to one year in prison and up to $100,000 in fines, according to court documents.

Denton is about a 40-mile drive northwest from Dallas.

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