St. Louis, Mo., Sep 9, 2022 / 12:12 pm
A new report from the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) quantifies and analyzes the many reported incidents of violence against pro-life people and entities since May and offers recommendations for government officials on how to respond.
The RFI concluded that conditions remain in place for more attacks against pro-life entities and people to occur in 2022 and into 2023.
“As of late August 2022, perpetrators have attacked at least 63 pro-life organizations, across 26 states and the District of Columbia, since the Dobbs leak,” the Sept. 6 report says, referring to the May 2 leak of a draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court indicating that the court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the question of abortion legalization to the states.
“Twenty-eight of the 63 pro-life organizations are religious. In the majority of organizations attacked, most of the staff and volunteers are motivated by religious convictions to do this work,” the report said. “While Christians have been at the forefront of the pro-life movement in the United States for decades, Jews, Muslims, and those of other religious traditions, as well as some atheists and agnostics, have made important contributions to the effort.”