Police in the largest city in New Mexico have apprehended a woman who assaulted and injured peaceful pro-life advocates in a violent attack that occurred outside a late-term abortion business.
The woman was charged with one count of battery and one count of aggravated battery. Police have not yet released her name.
The woman claimed to be a supporter of abortion and she engaged in the attack Tuesday outside Southwestern Women’s Options, a late-term abortion center where pro-life advocates have been offering information about alternatives to women headed there for abortions. The attack resulted in bloody wounds for one pro-life advocate.
According to Operation Rescue, a pro-life group working with the pro-life advocates at the abortion facility, the woman was angry and told the pro-lifers that she had once had an abortion. She then began to viciously punch and kick Bud Shaver, a former Operation Rescue intern, and a pro-life woman named Chris. The post-abortive woman used her keys as a weapon and inflicted a deep gash on Shaver’s head that paramedics said required stitches.
“I received a call from the Assistant Police Chief, and was informed as to the status of the investigation,” Operation Rescue president Troy Newman told LifeNews after learning the woman had been apprehended. “After that discussion, I was impressed at the professionalism of the Albuquerque Police and their commitment to stop violence like this in their community. We have been guaranteed that the woman will face a judge and be held accountable for her actions. We really appreciate the hard work they are doing to keep everyone safe.”
Shaver, a former Operation Rescue intern who is now with Project Defending Life, emphasized that the pro- lifers did nothing to provoke the woman’s attack. He said the woman was driving by the abortion facility , noticed the protest, and parked her car so she could have words with them. What started as a dialogue quickly turned ugly.
“She just started escalating into throwing punches with her fist and she had keys in her hands,” Shaver said. “There was nothing we could do, the only thing we could do was withstand the blows.”
Police told Operation Rescue they fielded a large number of phone calls concerning the incident, following which LifeNews.com reported on the assault.
Newman said, “We want to thank everyone who called and wrote to the police. Your efforts really made an impression, and today, everyone is more aware of the violence suffered by pro-life activists. The police diligently worked to apprehend the perpetrator and she is being charged. Now we encourage everyone to call and thank the police department for being so attentive to our concerns, and pray that this obviously troubled woman gets the help she needs.”
“Bud and Tara Shaver, and their beautiful daughter Tirzah, are doing some amazing work in Albuquerque. In addition to driving Operation Rescue’s Truth Truck, they just opened up a new crisis pregnancy center and are leading efforts to save lives from abortion in that community. We urge all who can to consider sending them a financial gift to help them in this important work,” said Newman.
Shaver told Operation Rescue that the woman was a passerby that stopped, but she did not appear to be headed to the abortion business or working at it as a staffer or volunteer.
The attack occurred just days after Operation Rescue released a recording of a 911 call during which a woman is reportedly injured by an abortion that leaves her unable to breathe and in apparent need of urgent medical care. The woman’s current status is unknown.
Operation Rescue has also obtained a series of 911 emergency recordings made from Southwestern Women’s Options where the violent attack took place that clearly indicate life-threatening abortion complications that required emergency hospitalization and the pro-life organization plans to make those public later this week.
The attack also occurred the day after the pro-life group Human Life International released a new report citing hundreds of cases of pro-abortion violence against pregnant women, pro-life advocates and pro-life organizations.
