Citing nearly 300 officer visits to the local abortion facility over the past two years, police in Greenville, South Carolina, may put new rules into place regarding activity near the building — yet those rules seem to be one-sided.
Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis told the Greenville Post and Courier that complaints relating to the abortion facility, Greenville Women’s Clinic, rarely lead to charges. But he still said there are safety concerns. “I’ve caught more grief over that clinic than I have anything else in three and a half years, on both sides,” he said.
Now police are considering new rules for picketing and demonstrating, which have to be approved by the City Council. Protesters would not be allowed to carry firearms or any other weapons, wear headcovers or body armor, or even to carry a bag larger than 6 inches, by 8 inches, by 3 inches. Violating these rules would be a punishable offense, carrying a fine up to $500.
“Nobody’s trying to exclude anybody,” Lewis said. “We’re just trying to get a handle on a large number of people and if something happens, how do we deal with it. Because right now, we don’t have anything.”
Though these rules will allegedly be applied equally, the rules themselves seem to be entirely directed towards protesters — and not abortion facility staffers or volunteers. Yet pro-lifers are frequently the victims of abortion facility staffers, volunteers, and escorts. Violent acts against pro-lifers have included assault, stabbings, numerous threats with loaded firearms, and much more.
Meanwhile, since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022, which overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion-related violence has skyrocketed — and the vast majority of the attacks and violence have been directed towards pro-lifers. It’s a fact even acknowledged by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who said approximately 70% of abortion-related violence and threats have been directed towards the pro-life movement, and not towards abortion facilities.
It’s unclear from the article if safety measures will also be put into place to protect the pro-life sidewalk counselors, but their safety should be considered despite the largely inaccurate and hateful stereotypes portrayed about pro-lifers by the abortion-friendly media.
