Three Anti-Choice Extremists Face Prison Time, For Violating Women’s Reproductive Rights

WASHINGTON – Three anti-choice extremists, Lauren Handy (30), John Hinshaw (69), and William Goodman (54), were sentenced to prison for their roles in a violent conspiracy to block access to a Washington, D.C. reproductive health clinic.

The U.S. District Court judge handed down the sentences after the defendants were convicted of civil rights conspiracy and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act violations. Handy was sentenced to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release, while Hinshaw received 21 months incarceration and three years of supervised release. Goodman was sentenced to 27 months and three years of supervised release.

The defendants, who traveled to Washington, D.C. from various northeast and midwestern states, conspired to create a blockade at the reproductive health care clinic to prevent patients from receiving reproductive health services. As part of the conspiracy, they forcefully entered the clinic and set about blockading two clinic doors using their bodies, furniture, chains, and ropes. Their activities were live-streamed on Facebook.

“These defendants conspired to use force to prevent fellow citizens from exercising rights protected by law,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves. “People cannot resort to using force and intimidation to prevent others from engaging in lawful activity simply because they disagree with the law.”

The Justice Department and the FBI will continue to investigate and prosecute FACE Act violations in all jurisdictions, ensuring that patients and providers can exercise their right to receive or provide lawful reproductive health care without the threat of violence or intimidation. “As evidenced by today’s sentencings, the FBI and our judicial system will not tolerate the obstruction of civil rights,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg.

The case serves as a reminder of the importance of protecting women’s reproductive rights and the consequences of violent extremism. As Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division noted, violence has no place in our national discourse on reproductive health. “Using force, threatening to use force or physically obstructing access to reproductive health care is unlawful,” she said. “The Justice Department will continue to protect both patients seeking reproductive health services and providers of those services.”