In the last five months, pregnancy resource centers around the country have suffered damage from vandals. It’s a story that hasn’t made mainstream news headlines, but the incidents have caused no small amount of needed repairs to the non-profit organizations. Not to mention fear and intimidation from the vandals’ threats.
If you’re unfamiliar with what they are, pregnancy resource centers offer help to women in unplanned pregnancies, from diapers and clothing, to food, ultrasounds, and counseling, even classes on how to handle finances.
So why would anyone target them? Well, one reason could be that the help these centers offer can change the minds of women seeking abortions, and give them the confidence to carry their baby to term instead.
They are viewed, rightly so, as pro-life, and therefore draw the ire of some radical pro-abortion activists.
Statements from politicians like Elizabeth Warren help fuel their anger.
“In Massachusetts right now, those crisis pregnancy centers that are there to fool people who are looking for pregnancy termination help outnumber true abortion clinics by 3 to 1,” she said. “We need to shut them down here in Massachusetts, and we need to shut them down all around the country. You should not be able to torture a pregnant person like that.”
Some 100 centers and churches across the country have been damaged since the leak of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe vs. Wade. These would seem to the average person to be somewhat connected. And at least one group has publicly taken credit for some the attacks.
In June, the FBI said it was investigating these incidents, which included some centers being firebombed and others defaced with spray painted messages like, “If abortion isn’t safe, then you aren’t safe.” But to this point, no arrests made have been made.
Fast forward to late September, when a man named Mark Houck was taken into custody by the FBI. The agency dispatched some 20 heavily armed agents in the pre-dawn raid.
No, Houck was not involved with any of the acts of vandalism. Quite the opposite.
Houck is a pro-life activist and father of seven, who leads a catholic men’s ministry. He apparently often gathers with others outside of abortion clinics to pray and offer counseling. So, what did he do to draw the ire of one of the most powerful federal agencies?
He apparently pushed someone.
I’m not joking.
Supporters of Houck claim the shove was in reaction to a pro-abortion activist berating his 12-year old son. Local authorities investigated the incident and declined to bring even misdemeanor charges. Now, the U.S. Department of Justice is charging him with two felonies for blocking access to an abortion clinic, charges which carry maximum sentences of up to 11 years in prison.
Houck’s wife recounted the scary scene of the FBI pounding on their door early in the morning, and gun-wielding agents arresting Mark in front of their children.
Now, you don’t have to be very observant to notice something is not right here. The inaction taken on 100 documented cases of vandalism, arson and property damage, and the head-scratching targeting of a citizen with no criminal record, tell a story. And it’s a frightening one.
There are good people in the FBI and in our Department of Justice. There are people trying to do the right thing, to bring punishment for crime, and to stop crime from happening.
But we’ve also seen recently that some in the administration will use their incredible power to target their political opposition. I think Mark Houck’s story demonstrates just that.
But, you may say, how is this one man considered the administration’s political opposition? He may not directly be, but his treatment sends a message to others that they better not speak out on certain issues, like abortion, or they could face the same thing.
I imagine that Houck will be acquitted. But that won’t erase the legal battle ahead of him, or the trauma he and his family have faced. And that harassment will be seen by other like-minded people who would seek to intervene on behalf of the unborn.
If that be the case, don’t let it work on you. Whatever you do, do not lose your heart to speak up.
No Longer Silent 