Five pro-life activists were found guilty Tuesday in a federal court for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a Clinton-era law passed to stop sit-ins at abortion facilities. They were also charged and found guilty of one count of conspiracy to block the entrance to the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C.
The defendants, Lauren Handy, Will Goodman, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, and Herb Geraghty, were part of a group of pro-life activists who participated in an October 2020 rescue and protest at the Washington Surgi-Clinic, operated by the late-term abortionist Cesare Santangelo.
Handy’s lawyers at the Thomas More Society described the pro-life activists’ actions that day: “Some simply kneeled and prayed at Santangelo’s facility, some passed out pro-life literature and counseled abortion-minded women, and others roped and chained themselves together inside the facility.” The defendants could face up to 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines of up to $350,000.
In 2013, Live Action released footage of Santangelo stating he would deny medical care to babies born alive after a failed abortion. When Lauren Handy took the stand last week, she cited that video as the impetus for organizing the October 2020 rescue at Santangelo’s facility.
Handy told the jury: “My belief that was formed after watching the video was … if the fetus survived the abortion attempt, they were left to die” at Santangelo’s facility. It was outside this same D.C. facility that the bodies of 115 preborn babies were recovered in
