Behind Bars: An Update from Jail
Hello PAAU family, this is Caroline Smith, Executive Director of PAAU. I’m here with an update straight from our Director of Activism Lauren Handy who is currently incarcerated in Alexandria, Virginia.
Lauren along with 4 other brave activists were taken to jail directly after their unjust conviction of conspiracy to violate the FACE Act. In reality, they entered the Washington Surgi-Center with the purpose of stopping infanticide by notorious murderer Cesare Santangelo.
Since her incarceration, Lauren has sent me several statements about her perspective, her experience, and her continued commitment to ending abortion. I have compiled those messages into a blog post for you to read. Here is what Lauren has to say from behind bars:
”Hey everyone. I am doing well, and I’m right where I’m supposed to be. I’ve already been able to reach out to people I’ve encountered and provide comfort and counseling. Thank you for everyone’s support.
I know that many in the movement don’t agree with Rescue and now consider me useless because I am behind bars. This shows once again how our movement often comes off as gimmicky and inauthentic. This isn't a numbers game — this is about Love. Loving the most useless, abandoned and unwanted without fear of punishment.
My vocation is to love... not to be reduced down to a function for the “cause”. My time in jail is the alabaster jar of perfume pouring out for the rejected and unloved.
Yes those outside of jail have saved tens of thousands of babies, and I hope and pray for tens of thousands more saved. But someone has to love and mourn and give reparations for the DC Five: Christopher X, Ángel, Holly, Harriet and Phoenix. I don't want to fall into the Non-profit Industrial Complex and limit my ability to love without fear or shame.
Remember who the real enemy is... it's not each other. Its the ones who fund, participate and protect this injustice.
It’s not just "sad" when an unborn person is murdered, it is acutely devastating. Someone needs to feel and mourn deeply. Someone needs to love to the point of supposed uselessness.
Someone needs to Rescue.”
Thank you for the support these Rescuers have received during their last week in jail. Unity is key to the pro-life movement and we must remember the real enemy - the abortion industry. PAAU is continually dedicated to equality, non-violence, and non-discrimination.
If you would like to support Lauren in jail, please donate here: https://www.givesendgo.com/laurenpaau