A Massachusetts man is facing assault charges after he allegedly shoved an older pro-life woman to the ground outside a Planned Parenthood in April.
A witness said the 76-year-old woman’s head bounced off the pavement when she was pushed on April 20 outside the Boston abortion facility, the Boston Herald reports. The woman said she suffered a concussion and other injuries as a result.
Hartman Deetz, 42, of Brighton, later was charged with battery and assault on a person 60 years or older, according to the report. He was scheduled to appear in court this week.
Police said Deetz escorted a woman to an appointment at the Planned Parenthood on the day of the incident. According to police, the 76-year-old woman approached him after he walked out of the facility, and Deetz turned around and pushed her to the ground. Police said security cameras recorded footage of the incident.
The older woman told police that she was trying to offer information to Deetz when he pushed her.
“It was so quick, the next thing I knew I was down and hit my hit. And to be honest, I thought I either had a fractured skull or was bleeding. I thought I was going to die,” she said.
Later, she said a doctor determined that she had a concussion. Since then, she said she has been suffering from headaches, dizziness, vertigo and other health problems that have prevented her from performing normal life functions like laundry and cooking.
Pro-life advocate William Cotter, a witness, told police that he saw the woman’s head bounce off the sidewalk after she was pushed.
“It was obviously very shocking upsetting, her head bounced off the sidewalk. It was a very awful thing,” Cotter said. “I’d never seen anything like that, a woman suddenly assaulted in such a violent manner.”
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Pro-life advocates increasingly have become targets of assault, vandalism and other incidents. In April, another older pro-life woman allegedly was assaulted outside of a Kentucky abortion facility and was hospitalized. A month earlier, someone brutally attacked an older pro-life man outside a Planned Parenthood abortion facility in San Francisco. Then in May, the pro-life group Created Equal released a video showing a female student punch a young pro-life advocate in the face. And in October, an Arizona abortionist allegedly pulled a gun on a pro-life advocate who was standing outside an abortion facility in Phoenix.
LifeNews.com has documented an alarming uptick in reports of vandalism, harassment, threats and other incidents targeting pro-lifers.
Here is the list of incidents reported in 2019:
- Pennsylvania – Vandals Destroy Crosses from Pro-Life Display at Robert Morris University (Students for Life)
- Wisconsin – Pro-Life Display Vandalized at Milwaukee School of Engineering (Students for Life/Wisconsin Right to Life)
- Minnesota – Abortion Activists Vandalize Pro-Life Student Display at Winona State University (Students for Life)
- Pennsylvania – Church Vandalized a Third Time after Setting Up Pro-Life Display
- Ohio – Students: 27 Posters for Pro-Life Event Vandalized at Xavier University (Xavier Newswire)
- Canada – Pro-Life Heartbeat Billboard Vandalized in Alberta (Red Deer Advocate)
- Indiana – Pro-Life Event Fliers Vandalized at St. Mary’s College (College Fix)
- Michigan – Flags Stolen from Pro-Life Display at Michigan State University (Campus Reform)
- England – UK Pro-Life Campus Clubs Face Threats of “Milkshaking,” Other Hostilities (The Independent)
- England – Police Protect Pro-Lifers Mobbed by Marxist Abortion Activists in London (National File)
- North Carolina – Abortion Activist Arrested for Larceny after Taking Things from Pro-Life Advocates (The Daily Tar Heel)
- Illinois – Pro-Life Signs Vandalized with Profanity at Elmhurst Catholic Church (Pro-Life Action League)
- Arizona – Abortionist Allegedly Pulls Gun on Pro-Life Advocate
- California – Video: Planned Parenthood Security Guard Allegedly Assaults Journalist During David Daleiden Trial (Daily Wire)
- Pennsylvania – Church Pro-Life Display Vandalized, Crosses Torn from the Ground
- Illinois – Man Charged for Allegedly Threatening Pro-Life Advocate with Knife Outside Abortion Clinic (Granite City Police Department)
- Washington, D.C. – Video: Pro-Abortion Mob Spits On, Pushes Pro-Life Students
- England – Politician Praises Abortion Activists for Vandalizing Pro-Life Billboard
- Mexico – Abortion Activists Set Fire to Cathedral, Government Building during Protest
- Minnesota – Abortion Activist Allegedly Set Off Bomb Scare at 40 Days for Life Event in Rochester
- Oregon – Mother Says She Was Targeted with Fake Report to Child Protective Services after Nurse Learned She Is Pro-Life (Epoch Times)
- Indiana – Four Benches Advertising Pro-Life Pregnancy Resources Vandalized in South Bend (National Right to Life News)
- Tennessee – Videos: Abortion Activists Push, Kick Pro-Life Sidewalk Counselors
- Switzerland – Police: Abortion Activists Attack Officers, Throw Burning Objects (Swiss Broadcasting Corporation)
- El Salvador – Abortion Activists Throw Eggs, Red Paint on Attorney General’s Office (NBC News)
- Pro-Life Across America: More Than A Dozen Pro-Life Billboards Vandalized This Year – And It’s Only August
- Chicago – Pro-life Billboard Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Slogan Painted over Baby’s Face (Pro-life Action League)
- Washington, D.C. – Pro-Lifer Allegedly Punched Repeatedly by Top Google Employee
- Texas – Pregnancy Center Vandalized for Second Time This Year
- Australia – Police Charge Cyclist for Allegedly Spitting Directly in Pro-Life Protester’s Face
- Australia – Pro-Life MPs Receive Death Threats After Voting Against Radical Pro-Abortion Bill
- England – Christian Family’s Window Smashed after Displaying Pro-Life Poster (UK Metro)
- Illinois – Chicago Pregnancy Center’s Mobile Van Vandalized, Tires Slashed
- Washington, D.C. – Man who Mocked, Threatened to Shoot Pro-lifers at D.C. Planned Parenthood Goes Free (Live Action News)
- England – Scottish MP Receives Threats after Voting Against Pro-Abortion Bill (News Letter)
- North Carolina – Pregnancy Center Van Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Graffiti
- Wisconsin – Woman Arrested for Allegedly Vandalizing Pro-Life Display, Pushing Pro-Life Advocate (Created Equal)
- Texas – Anarchist Group Threatens to Dox Students who Join Conservative Pro-Life Groups (College Fix)
- Canada – Canadian Movie Theater Cancels “Unplanned” After Abortion Activists Threaten Violence, Catholic Herald Reports 2 Death Threats
- Canada – “Unplanned” Movie Premiers in Theaters Across Canada Despite Censorship and Pro-Abortion Threats
- North Carolina – Abortion Activists Arrested at City Council Meeting about Ordinance Restricting Free Speech (Charlotte Observer)
- Washington state – Video: Person Caught Stealing Crosses from Pro-Life Display (Students for Life)
- Ireland – Pro-Life Student Receives Death Threat after Writing Column Defending the Unborn (The Irish Catholic)
- Alabama – Pro-Life Sidewalk Counselors: Driver Tried to Hit Us outside Abortion Clinic (Live Action)
- Massachusetts – Abortion Activists Arrested After Throwing Urine on Pro-Life Speaker
- Illinois – Pro-Life College Student Receives Death Threats for Proposing Cuts to Abortion Funding (Fox News)
- Missouri – Abortion Activists Arrested at Protest Demanding Pro-Life Governor Keep Dangerous Abortion Clinic Open (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
- Florida – Video: Student Wrecks Pro-Life Display at University of Central Florida (Created Equal)
- Alabama – Abortion Advocates Threatened to Rape Pro-Life Legislator’s Wife After He Voted for Abortion Ban
- Mississippi – Pro-Life Advocate Hit with Cane, Pushed at Pro-Abortion Rally
- Ohio – Abortion Activists Spit on Pro-Life Woman, Threaten Rape (Created Equal)
- Ohio – Abortion Activist: Pro-Life Advocates “Deserve To Be Shot” (Created Equal)
- Washington, D.C. – Student: Abortion Activists Pushed, Threatened Him at National Protest (Breitbart)
- New Jersey – Student Pro-Life Display Vandalized, Signs Stolen (The Signal, College of New Jersey)
- Pennsylvania – Catholic Church Vandalized with Pro-Abortion Slogan
- Abortion Activists Threaten to Kill, Rape Wife and Daughter of Pro-Life Writer Matt Walsh
- Michigan – Pro-Life Office Vandalized after Lawmakers Pass Bill to Protect Unborn Babies
- North Carolina – Student Arrested for Stealing Sign from Pro-Life Advocates on Campus
- Alabama — Abortion Activist Caught on Camera Assaulting Pro-Life Woman, Punches Her Repeatedly
- California – Video: Student Destroys Pro-Life Display on Campus (Students for Life)
- Washington state – Police Investigating Arson after Pro-Life Display Set on Fire on Campus
- North Carolina – Video: Student Charged after Punching Pro-Lifer Repeatedly in the Face
- Pennsylvania – State Lawmaker Berates Pro-Life Woman, Attempts to Doxx Pro-Life Teenage Girls
- California – FBI Arrests Man for Alleged Serious Death Threats against Pro-Life Speaker Ben Shapiro, Family (TMZ)
- Alabama – Abortion Activist Throws Paint inside Alabama House as Lawmakers Vote to Ban Abortion
- Texas – University of Texas Austin Student Pro-Life Materials Stolen, Thrown in the Gutter (Students for Life)
- More Than 50 Pro-Life Student Displays Vandalized This School Year (Students for Life)
- Texas – Abortion Activists Try to Shut Down Pro-Life Speaker With Smokebomb. They Failed
- Washington state – Conservative Student: Man Vandalized Display, Tried to Hit Her With Car Twice (The College Fix)
- Kentucky – Elderly Pro-Life Woman Attacked Outside Abortion Facility, Thighbone Broken
- Illinois – Pro-Life Students’ Display Stolen at Southern Illinois University- Edwardsville (Students for Life)
- Texas – Police Investigate Threats Against Pro-Life Republican Lawmakers (Dallas News)
- Missouri – Pro-life Speaker Michael Knowles attacked during speech at University of Missouri-Kansas City (Campus Reform)
- California – Pro-Abortion Students Throw Pro-Life Display Into River, Protest Pro-Life Speech With Coat Hangers
- California – WATCH: Planned Parenthood Supporter Brutally Assaults Elderly Pro-Life Volunteer
- Massachusetts – Massachusetts Citizens for Life Receives Suspicious Package, Building Shut Down
- Michigan – Video: Abortion Activists Steal Crosses from Pro-Life Display at University of Michigan
- Massachusetts – Pro-lifer Punched in Face Outside Abortion Facility (police report: http://blog.brooklinepolice.com/2019/03/thursday-march-14th.html)
- Connecticut – Pro-Life Students’ Display Vandalized at University of Connecticut
- Missouri – Items Stolen, Vandalized from Church Pro-Life Display (WDAF Kansas City)
- Minnesota – Campus Republican Club Catches Students on Video Tearing Down Pro-Life Fliers (College Fix)
- Australia – Video: Pro-Abortion Students Vandalize Pro-Life Campus Display (LifeChoice Australia)
- England – Police Investigate Violent Attacks on Pro-Life People at Prayer Vigils
- Ohio – Abortion Activists Harass Pro-Life Rape Survivor, Police Called
- Washington state – 3 Pro-Life Billboards Vandalized: “Your Life Drains Earth” (The Blaze)
- California – Abortion Activists Destroy, Steal UCLA Pro-Life Club Signs (Live Action)
- Virginia – Pregnancy Center Vandalized in Politically Motivated Attack
- Washington, D.C. – Abortion Activists Smash Pro-Life Sign, Hit Boy and His Dad With a Stick
- France – Abortion Activists Spraypaint “Blessed Abortion” on Catholic Church (National Catholic Register)
- Texas – Pro-Life Advocate Brutally Assaulted for Telling Man “Jesus Loves You”