A pro-life activist was given a 57-month prison sentence and three-year supervision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Tuesday for her participation in a quiet pro-life protest at one of the city’s most contentious abortion facilities.
Lauren Handy, 30, was one of several members of the Progressive Anti- Pregnancy Uprising , ( PAAU), a largely communist business with a pro- lifestyle streak, who initiated a “rescue and protest” at overdue- term abortionist Cesare Santangelo’s Washington, D. C., facility in October 2020.
” Some merely kneeled and prayed at Santangelo’s service, some passed out pro- lifestyle literature and advised abortion- thinking women, and others roped and chained themselves up inside the facility”, Handy’s lawyers at the Thomas More Society noted.
After hearing him say on an undercover film that he “would not help” a child born alive after a botched pregnancy, Handy, PAAU’s director of Activism and Mutual Aid, made the decision to rally in particular at Santangelo’s facility.
In witness testimony, Handy told the court,” My belief that was formed after watching the video was that if the fetus survived the abortion attempt, they were left to die.”
Handy was also among those who recovered a box of , five dead preemie- sized babies outside of Santagelo’s facility. The discovery of the” D. C. Five” should have prompted an investigation into Santangelo’s possibly illegal abortion methods. Instead, it put Handy at risk for more scrutiny from law enforcement and pro- abortion Democrats.
Nearly two years after the protest in October, Biden’s DOJ accused Handy and nine other advocates of allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances ( FACE ) Act, the Constitution, and engaging in a Conspiracy Against Rights. The defendants were sentenced to an additional 11 years in federal prison, which was a significant increase over what other pro-lifers received.
A Washington, D. C., federal jury convicted Handy on both counts in August 2023. Handy’s lawyers “asked the Court to show leniency with a 12- month sentence — which effectively amounts to time- served” and mentioned her “deep commitment to non- violence, history of humanitarian work, and dedication to serving the marginalized in society” but to no avail.
Jay Smith, Handy’s other protester, has so far been the only defendant in this case to have avoided jail time with less than a year of jail time. He entered a plea deal. Handy’s lawyers say they plan to appeal her conviction and sentence.
At least one Republican lawmaker has also called for action in the face of the Democrat administration’s lawfare.
” Today’s outrageous 57- month sentence for a progressive pro- life activist is a stark reminder: Biden’s DOJ is fully weaponized against pro- life American citizens, and they are using the FACE Act to do it”, Rep. Chip Roy said in a statement. House Republicans should support the freedoms that we support by opposing the DOJ’s use of force, repealing the FACE Act, and standing up for our rights.
The Department of Justice, which is headed by President Joe Biden, has ignored the crimes of tens of thousands of confused adults who have occupied college campuses, blocked traffic, and desecrated monuments ( including a federal memorial dedicated to American military personnel ). When it comes to prayerful pro- lifers, however, they have n’t held back.
As Roy previously noted,  , Biden’s DOJ charged dozens of pro- life Americans — including one dad of 11 children — with FACE Act violations for praying, worshipping, and peacefully opposing abortion but has repeatedly failed to bring the hammer down on Democrat and pro- abortion lawbreakers.
Jordan Boyd is a co-producer of The Federalist Radio Hour and a staff writer for The Federalist. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordanian completed her political science major at Baylor University and minored in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @jordanboydtx.
