A Catholic pregnancy center in Chicago was vandalized last week just after the Democratic National Convention (DNC) ended, Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported.
Mary FioRito, a spokesperson for the Aid for Women center and a volunteer there for over two decades, told the outlet that four suspects splattered red paint and scrawled the words “fake clinic” and “dead babies are in Gaza” on the entrance of of the building. The vandals also allegedly cemented the center’s doors shut, which forced staff to cancel all appointments on Friday.
FioRito told CNA the incident happened at around 3 a.m. in north Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood. She said the incident was caught on surveillance video and turned over to law enforcement, and authorities are investigating the vandalism as a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrance (FACE) Act.
The Chicago Police Department on Tuesday told Breitbart News that it had “no updates” on the case.
Aid for Women is a non-profit “founded on the faith and teachings of the Catholic Church,” according to its website. It partners with the Archdiocese of Chicago, operates five pregnancy centers and two maternity homes in the Chicago area, and offers various services including ultrasounds, counseling, material aid, and abortion pill reversal, according to the report.
For the past 25 years, it’s been my privilege to be a volunteer and board member at Aid for Women, a nonprofit that runs maternity homes and pregnancy services throughout Illinois.
Last night, after the closing of the DNC, vandals attacked one of AFW’s Chicago locations. pic.twitter.com/yieCfi3XqE
— Mary H. FioRito (@maryfiorito) August 23, 2024
FioRito said she was “horrified” when she saw what had been done to the center and noted that the center is located in an impoverished area.
“You’re not hurting us; you’re hurting these women,” she said, addressing the suspects.
“Many of the women we serve are not women of means,” she added. “Pregnancy is hard enough. You don’t need something like this layered on top of it, making your life even harder.”
“If the people who did this were intending to hurt the pro-life movement or get back at the pro-life movement for Dobbs, all they’re really hurting is poor women when they do something like this,” she continued.
Health care. No matter what. No matter where. 💙 Ὡ We’re always thinking of ways to meet our patients where they’re at.
We took a road trip in our mobile health clinic to #IntoAction2024 in Chicago, and provided 9 FREE vasectomies, 8 FREE medication abortions, & FREE EC. pic.twitter.com/r6AT27AzUK
— Planned Parenthood Great Rivers (@ppgreatrivers) August 22, 2024
The DNC took place at Chicago’s United Center from August 19-22. The event emphasized the Democratic Party’s abortion-throughout-pregnancy platform and included pro-abortion speakers who claimed that killing unborn babies in abortions makes women “unstoppable.”
A local Planned Parenthood also operated a mobile “health” clinic outside the convention and offered free vasectomies and medication abortions. Planned Parenthood Great Rivers said on Thursday that it had performed nine vasectomies and eight medication abortions. It had previously estimated it would perform 25 free abortions.