Rise in violent rhetoric, behavior against abortion providers
National Abortion Federation released new statistics this week
The National Abortion Federation released new statistics that indicated a rise in violence toward abortion providers.
Arsons, burglaries, death threats, and invasions increased overall. In states with robust abortion rights protections, there was a sharp increase in violence and disruption. That’s in line with what some in the pro-choice movement predicted when they said the antiabortion movement would shift their focus away from red states into blue states where the clinics continued to operate.
Burglary saw a 231 percent increase. Stalking saw a 229 percent jump. And arson doubled.
Additionally, anti-abortion individuals and groups begin to use encrypted communication tools and services like Signal, Telegram, Discord, and Session. These tools allow extremists to coordinate and share anti-abortion sentiment, actions, and tactics more privately and anonymously. This shift likely contributed to a slight decrease in the incidents of hate email/internet harassment that we were able to document in 2022.
The report also dealt with lawmakers conflating vandalism against crisis pregnancy centers with the attacks on abortion providers. In early 2023, the FBI announced a $25,000 reward for anyone with information about a series of attacks on “reproductive health clinics” in 2022. But nine of the 10 organizations that the agency listed in its announcement are anti-abortion centers—not abortion clinics.
“The well-organized extremist violence against abortion providers should not be conflated with acts of vandalism against fake clinics,” the report read in part. “And many of the individuals and politicians who are suddenly concerned about the violence against these buildings have been silent for decades as medical providers have been stalked and murdered for doing their jobs— and some of those same people who are outraged now have even encouraged that violence against abortion providers.”