Budd, Tillis organize letter demanding Josh Stein protect crisis pregnancy centers | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is David Larson.

    North Carolina's U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, who is currently running to join Tillis in the U.S. Senate, organized a letter, sent on July 29, demanding that N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein take action to protect crisis pregnancy centers in the state. Other signatories joining the letter were fellow N.C. Republicans U.S. Reps. Dan Bishop, Richard Hudson, and Greg Murphy.

    "We were troubled to see several attacks on Crisis Pregnancy Centers across the country," the letter began. "We were especially troubled to learn of the attack on Mountain Area Pregnancy Services in Asheville. The attackers scrawled in red graffiti across the clinic 'if abortions aren't safe neither are you!' Crisis Pregnancy Centers exist to give women support and resources during their pregnancy. These organizations provide critical counseling services, parenting classes, and vital supplies such as diapers and formula. This noble work makes the attacks and threats of violence against these organizations all the more disturbing and unacceptable."

    The letter asserts that these acts violate both state and federal laws. Specifically, the signatories cited the 1994 Freedom of Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act that protects all clinics meant to assist pregnant women, including those who "decline to perform abortions."

    "This law empowers state Attorneys General such as yourself with the authority to seek civil relief for conduct that violates the FACE Act," the letter said.

    The Republican legislators said that Stein should not "play favorites" on enforcing this law or it could give the impression that attacks on crisis pregnancy centers are "silently condoned."

    The letter calls out the Antifa-connected group Jane's Revenge, which has claimed responsibility for the attack on Mountain Area Pregnancy Services and dozens of others. They call on Stein to "use every resource at your disposal-both civil and criminal-to protect Crisis Pregnancy Centers, bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."

    This letter comes after 20 U.S. House members, including North Carolina's Republican Congressional Delegation, signed a letter earlier in the summer to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the same issue of attacks on crisis pregnancy centers and churches in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

    The letter ends by saying, "We request you provide us with an update no later than August 15, 2022, on what steps your office has taken to ensure that women across our state can access the services provided by Crisis Pregnancy Centers without fear of violence."

    The full letter can be viewed below:

    Budd-Tillis-Letter-to-AG-Stein-on-Pregnancy-Center-Attacks