An elderly man at a peaceful pro-life prayer vigil outside a San Francisco-based Planned Parenthood abortion clinic was physically assaulted by an abortion advocate this month on two separate occasions, one of which was captured in disturbing video footage.
The man, aged 85, had his pro-life banner in support of the 40 Days for Life campaign stolen by an unidentified male abortion advocate. When the pro-lifer attempted to get his property back from the activist, he was severely beaten and threatened.
The video footage shows the thief, when first approached by the pro-lifer, throwing his bicycle at the 85-year-old, knocking him down to the ground. Then, while he’s on the pavement, the Planned Parenthood supporter continuously kicks him in the legs and back and shouts, “Old man, stay on the ground. Stay on the ground, old man, unless you wanna get hurt.”
Footage of two attacks — both this attack on the elderly man, and one attack on another pro-lifer that occurred just two days prior — was likely captured by surveillance cameras outside the Planned Parenthood facility. But the abortion giant reportedly will not cooperate in this regard with authorities, noted Life News.
According to the pro-life outlet, the same perpetrator “threw a sign, table and pro-life literature into the street” during a pro-life vigil with the San Francisco 40 Days for Life campaign two days before the attack. “He knocked two men to the ground during that incident as well, including the same elderly pro-lifer he attacked again on Thursday.”
“The vicious attack against our elderly client is intolerable,” said Life Legal Senior Counsel Allison Aranda. The legal team is representing the elderly pro-life victim.
“We will pursue all legal avenues to see that justice is served and that the freedom to speak freely on the public sidewalk without threat of physical violence is protected no matter the message. As a former prosecutor, I trust that the San Francisco District Attorney’s office will pursue all legal charges against the perpetrator and bring him to justice,” she added.
“We are appalled by this brazen assault against an elderly man who was simply exercising his First Amendment rights on a public sidewalk,” noted Life Legal Executive Director Alexandra Snyder, according to Life News. “Life Legal will not sit by and allow the escalation of violence to continue, and we are working to ensure that pro-life advocates are protected and that perpetrators are brought to justice.”
Shawn Carney, President and CEO of 40 Days for Life, said that pro-lifers, including the elderly victim, “will not be deterred nor will other volunteers be deterred from peacefully being a voice for the unborn [while] many in America advocate for late-term abortion and infanticide.”
“The pro-life movement uses science, medical alternatives, and compassion to change hearts on this crucial issue. Planned Parenthood supporters have resorted to intimidation, insults, and violence,” Carney noted. “They have a long history of not granting dignity to the unborn — that now apparently applies to 85-year-old volunteers as well.”
Two weeks ago, a pro-life activist in Massachusetts was punched in the face while he was demonstrating outside an abortion clinic. “At around 9:30 a.m., officers were called to Women’s Health Services in Brookline after a male pro-life protester was physically assaulted by a female outside the clinic,” The Daily Wire reported.
Moreover, earlier this month, a feminist tried to steal crosses from a pro-life display organized by Students for Life at the University of Michigan. “The unidentified female abortion activist (it’s unclear if she is a student), is seen picking up pink crosses in a display known as the Cemetery of the Innocents; the crosses commemorate the lives of babies killed by abortion,” reported The Daily Wire. When officers manning a nearby Climate Change protest approached the purple-haired feminist, she claimed she was merely picking up “garbage” on the campus and dumped the crosses from her black garbage bag onto the ground.
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