Florida woman convicted of targeting pro-life pregnancy care centers

December 24, 2024

A Florida woman was convicted last week for her part in a conspiracy to engage in vandalism and to threaten employees of a pro-life pregnancy center in 2022.

The Christian Post reports that Gabriella Oropesa of Cooper City, Florida was convicted under the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act which is often used to prosecute pro-life activists who protest at abortion clinics.

Three of Oropesa’s co-conspirators, Caleb Freestone, Amber Stewart-Smith and Annarella Rivera, had previously pleaded guilty to engaging in attacks against pro-life care centers in Florida in 2022.

The defendants were convicted of spray painting messages saying, “If abortions aren’t safe [then] neither are you” and vowing that “our rage will not stop” on the Heartbeat of Miami Pregnancy Medical Help Clinic in Hialeah.

In a statement released by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division stated, “The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is clear: no one should have to face threats and intimidation just for doing their job.”

According to the Christian Post, the FACE Act is seen by many Republicans and conservatives as a tool to unfairly target protests at abortion clinics and to engage in “lawfare” against pro-life activists.

The FACE Act was signed into law in 1994 by president Bill Clinton in response to an uptick in violence against abortion providers.

Photo: top, Credit: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images