“Since 1977, there have been 11 murders, 42 bombings, 200 arsons, 531 assaults, 492 clinic invasions, 375 burglaries, and thousands of other incidents of criminal activities directed at patients, providers, and volunteers [at the nation’s abortion clinics].”—National Abortion Federation
Two weeks ago, the National Abortion Federation published its annual assessment of violence, threats, and disruptions against abortion clinics and the professionals and volunteers who work at them, as well as patients seeking their services. NAF cataloged an increase in 2022 for most of these threats and attacks.
Last year, there was a 231% rise in burglaries, a 229% rise in stalking, a 100% rise in arsons, a 25% rise in clinic invasions, and a 20% rise in threats of harm and death threats. Many of these crimes took place in states that are protective of reproductive rights, including abortion.
From the report:
he 2022 statistics show a decrease in some activities, including trespassing and assault and battery, which are likely attributed to clinic closures. In 2022, dozens of clinics across the country were forced to close as a result of state-level abortion bans and anti-abortion extremism. Some of the closed clinics were unable to report any data in 2022 and others only reported for part of the year. These closures account for some decreases in incidents, including reports of assault & battery as one of the clinics that closed had reported more than 100 incidents in 2021 and reported no data for 2022. We also suspect underreporting in some categories due to provider fatigue, staff turnover, and some clinics not having the staff or capacity to monitor or report protesters or other anti-abortion activity, especially as they managed surges inpatients.
We have also seen 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.
Fortunately, since 2009, no more abortion providers have been gunned down at a clinic, church, or home. That clearly doesn’t mean the threat has vanished.