Ohio Woman Pleads Guilty to FACE Act Violation for Vandalizing Pregnancy Center

An Ohio woman pleaded guilty to vandalizing a Bowling Green pro-life pregnancy center in April, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ announced on December 8 that 20-year-old Whitney Durant, also known as Soren Monroe, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which “prohibits threats of force, obstruction and property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services.”

Durant vandalized HerChoice pregnancy center on April 15, spray painting the words “LIARS,” “Fund Abortion,” “Abort God,” and “Jane’s Revenge,” the name of a pro-abortion domestic terror group that claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks on pro-life groups and churches following the leak of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. She was a Bowling Green State University student at the time of the incident, the DOJ noted.

A pro-life pregnancy center in Bowling Green, Ohio, was vandalized with “Jane’s Revenge” pro-abortion graffiti on Saturday.  https://t.co/xEP8WYbn9M

— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) April 17, 2023

“Defacing facilities that provide reproductive health services will not be tolerated in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to enforcing the FACE Act to protect all patients who seek reproductive health services and all persons and facilities that provide such services.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio announced it had brought the misdemeanor charge against Durant in July. Pro-Life advocacy group Students for Life of America (SFLA) reacted to the charge at the time and alleged that Durant had a history of “actively bullying” Falcons for Life, a pro-life group at the university affiliated with SFLA.

“Through in-person intimidation — by screaming obscenities and getting in the Falcons for Life faces — as well as online cyberbullying and defamation, (Durant) and the radical group she leads on campus have made it hard to be pro-life. They’re not giving up yet, though. The Falcons for Life are currently getting help from SFLA’s legal counsel over this matter and have sent a demand letter to the school administration,” SFLA’s Caroline Wharton wrote.

Rochelle Sikora, the executive director of HerChoice, said at the time of the vandalism that the “vile attack” was “part of a nationwide movement to intimidate, threaten, and terrorize pregnancy centers.” 

 “These tactics are not only anti-American, they are based on misconceptions, misinformation, and outright lies,” Sikora said. 

Within hours of the vandalism being discovered, a group of college students and local Knights of Columbus came to help clean up the vandalism, according to Ohio Right to Life.

“A huge thank you should be given to the local Knights of Columbus council and the college students who came out to help the cleanup process immediately upon seeing the vandalism. They represent the Bowling Green Community at its finest,” Ohio Right to Life’s Chief Executive Office Peter Range said in a statement at the time. 

“In the broader context, though, there have been well over 100 attacks against pro-life pregnancy centers and pro-life organizations since last year. Everyone in this state and nation, no matter their political affiliation or stance on abortion, should support centers and organizations that help mothers,” Range continued. “I pray local officials, statewide elected members, and national leaders will all rise to the moment and speak out against these attacks to put an end to these senseless attacks once and for all.” 

President Joe Biden’s DOJ and the FBI have been under scrutiny for prosecuting more pro-life activists under the FACE Act than pro-abortion activists, despite the admission from FBI Director Christoper Wray last November that approximately 70 percent of abortion-related threats of violence in the United States since the Dobbs decision have been against pro-life groups.

A sentencing hearing for Durant is scheduled for April 9, 2024. Durant faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison for the misdemeanor charge, according to the agency.