By means of Michael Gryboskieditor-in-chief of the church Monday December 23, 2024
A Florida woman has been convicted for her involvement in efforts to vandalize and threaten pro-life pregnancy care centers in 2022.
Gabriella Oropesa of Cooper City was convicted last Thursday for her part in a conspiracy against employees of pro-life pregnancy centers, according to a court filing. statement issued by the United States Department of Justice.
Caleb Freestone, Amber Stewart-Smith and Annarella Rivera had all previously pleaded guilty to their participation in this conspiracy.
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The conspirators were prosecuted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a controversial federal law often used to prosecute pro-life activists who protest at abortion clinics.
“The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is clear: No one should have to face threats and intimidation simply for doing their job,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
“The Department of Justice will continue to ensure access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care services provided to the public, whether those services include abortion or advice on alternatives to abortion.”
Oropesa’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 19, 2025, and he faces as much as 10 years in prison on the conspiracy charge.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Tampa Field Office investigated the case and received assistance from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Winter Haven, Hialeah and Hollywood police departments.
In 2022, a wave of attacks on churches and pro-life pregnancy centers occurred in response to the leaking of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that indicated the Supreme Court would overturn the law. Roe v. Wadethe polarizing 1973 decision that made abortion a constitutional right.
On July 3, 2022, weeks after the Supreme Court handed down the ruling RooFreestone and Smith-Stewart vandalized the Heartbeat at the Miami Pregnancy Medical Help Clinic in Hialeah. A message was spray-painted on the grounds that read, in part, “If abortions aren’t safe (then) neither are you” and promised that “our anger will not stop.”
Oropesa, Freestone, Smith-Stewart and Rivera are said to have engaged in additional attacks and threats against pro-life care centers in Florida in connection with the June 26, 2022 vandalism of a Winter Haven-based pro-life pregnancy center, which included graffiti stating “YOUR TIME IS UP!!” “WE COME FOR YOU” and “We are everywhere.”
Last year, the individuals were arrested and charged for their actions, along with Freestone, Smith-Stewart and Rivera plead guilty in June.
The FACE Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994. The legislation came in response to an increase in violence against abortion providers.
“We simply cannot – we must not – continue to allow the attacks, the arson, the campaigns of intimidation against law-abiding citizens that gave rise to this law,” Clinton stated at the time, as quoted by The New York Times.
“No one seeking medical care, no doctor providing that care, should have to face harassment, threats, obstruction, intimidation or even murder by vigilantes who take the law into their own hands because they think they know what the law should are.”
Many Republicans and conservatives have argued that the FACE Act has been used to unfairly crack down on protests at abortion clinics and engage in “lawsuits” against pro-life activists.
Last September, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas introduced a bill to repeal the FACE Act. announcement ever since federal law targeted opponents of abortion.
“Biden’s Justice Department has brutally deployed the FACE Act against normal, everyday Americans across the political spectrum simply because they are pro-life,” Roy said.
“Our Constitution separates power between the federal government and the states for a reason, and we ignore that guarantee at our peril. The FACE Act is an unconstitutional federal takeover of state police powers; it should be withdrawn.”
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