Socialist student faces federal charges for vandalizing pro-life pregnancy center in Ohio
A college student is facing federal charges for the vandalism of a pro-life pregnancy center in Ohio, as many similar organizations have been vandalized or firebombed following the U.S. Supreme Court's determination that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio announced in a statement published last week that 20-year-old Bowling Green State University student Whitney M. Durant, also known as Soren Monroe, is facing federal misdemeanor charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act in connection with the vandalism of a pro-life pregnancy center in Bowling Green, Ohio.
The FACE Act makes it a federal crime to intentionally damage or destroy the property of a facility because it provides "reproductive healthcare services."
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If convicted, Durant's sentence will be determined based on "the defendant's prior criminal record, if any, the defendant's role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations."
The U.S. Attorney's Office stressed that "the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum of one-year incarceration."
A Tuesday Instagram post from the Bowling Green Student Rights Union, which describes itself as "A student led organization with the mission to advocate for the rights and wellbeing of students and our communities through direct action," issued a statement identifying "Soren Monroe" as a member of their organization as well as a member of BGSocialists. Additionally, the post referred to the student with the plural pronouns "their" and "they,", indicating that she identifies as nonbinary.
A Facebook page for "Soren Monroe," which has the name "Whitney Durant" in the URL, features a biography characterizing the student activist as "a communist trying to spread the gay agenda" who uses "all pronouns." One public post on the page is a fundraiser for the pro-abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America.
On April 15, Ohio Right to Life announced that HerChoice care center, also known as the Bowling Green Pregnancy Center, had been vandalized with the phrases "Fake Clinic," "Jane's Revenge," "Fund Abortion" and "Abort God" on the exterior wall of the clinic while the word "Liars" was spray-painted on the window.
The phrase "Jane's Revenge" refers to a collective of pro-abortion terrorists who have claimed credit for the fire-bombing of a pro-life pregnancy center in Madison, Wisconsin, and declared "open season" on pro-life organizations after they failed to heed the group's demand to disband within 30 days.
The Right to Life chapter identified HerChoice as one of 180 pregnancy centers across the state that "provides free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, [sexually transmitted infection] testing, parenting classes, and all the infant and toddler supplies moms need to take care of their babies."
Durant is one of a handful of pro-abortion activists charged under the FACE Act for vandalizing pro-life pregnancy centers in the past year, following the leak of the U.S. Supreme Court's draft ruling in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization asserting that the U.S. Constitution did not have a right to abortion.
Earlier this year, several activists were arrested in connection with the vandalism of two separate pro-life pregnancy centers in Florida last summer.
In March, nearly a year after the May 2022 firebombing of Wisconsin Family Action's headquarters, Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury was arrested on one count of attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive in connection with the incident. Also in March, Hannah Kamke was arrested for spray-painting the word "Liars" onto a sign advertising CompassCare's pregnancy center in Amherst, New York.
Pro-life pregnancy centers and several churches have experienced varying degrees of vandalism following the publication of the leaked Dobbs draft by Politico and continuing after the official Dobbsdecision was released in June 2022, which led to violent outrage among some pro-abortion activists.
Following the Dobbs ruling, two dozen states have laws on the books banning abortion throughout most or all of pregnancy, while voters in California, Michigan and Vermont have voted in favor of ballot measures establishing a right to abortion in their respective state constitutions.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
