A 31-year-old Louisville, Kentucky, woman is being charged with second-degree assault for allegedly pushing a pro-life activist and breaking her leg outside the state’s only abortion facility in April, as previously reported by Live Action News. The accused woman, Janaya Alyce Gregory, has pleaded not guilty and has been released. She is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on May 21.
On April 12, Donna Durning was outside of EMW Women’s Surgical Center in Louisville. A dedicated pro-life activist, Durning approached a woman who was leaving the abortion facility to give her a card for a pregnancy center, according to the Courier Journal. That’s when Gregory allegedly attacked Durning.
READ: Kentucky lawyer wants abortion center buffer zones after attack on pro-lifer
“And with that, she just absolutely glared at me,” Durning recounted. “She grabbed me by both of my shoulders and she simply, really, pitched me across the sidewalk. I landed on my left side and my left arm and head.” She added that she couldn’t repeat the “horrible, horrible language” Gregory was using.
The criminal complaint states that Gregory ignored Durning at first, but then turned around and charged her, bumping into her and causing her to fall back.
Durning, who has been volunteering as a sidewalk counselor for 23 years, sustained a broken femur and a cut to the back of her head. She needed surgery on her leg and will have to take part in rehabilitation. Her leg will take about six months to fully heal. The incident was caught on a surveillance camera and the suspect got into the passenger seat of a car which drove away. However, witnesses were able to get the license plate number of the vehicle.
According to the Courier Journal, Durning has been assaulted outside the clinic at least twice before, including once in 2005 and again in 2017. Attacks against pro-lifers have been on the rise recently around the country, including the assault of an 85-year-old pro-life activist who leads 40 Days for Life San Francisco. He was knocked to the ground and kicked repeatedly after attempting to stop someone from stealing his pro-life materials.
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