Law enforcement is investigating the defacement of a Roman Catholic Church in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, with pro-abortion graffiti as several states move to enact laws criminalizing the killing of infants.
A pro-life message reading, “You do not have the right to decide how others live, #prochoice” was discovered at the entrance of the Notre Dame de Lourdes Church by one eyewitness on Saturday around 9:00 a.m. local time, according to NBC 10. Another slogan which read “#Pro Choice” was found on the side of the property.
Philly.com reported: “The man alerted the church pastor, Father Joseph Devlin, who reported the vandalism. The principal at the adjacent church school accessed security video of the vandalism in progress and handed it over to investigators. Parishioners removed the graffiti by late afternoon.”
“It was very shocking to come up to the church and see that,” parishioner Jessica Prince told CBS 3. “I’d have to say the first half of mass was me crying the whole time because I was so upset somebody would do that to the church.”
“If people wanted to come and stand outside our church and protest our beliefs, go for it,” she said before adding, “but vandalizing a property, I think, is taking it way too far.”
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia confirmed that local law enforcement is looking into the incident.
Pennsylvania garnered headlines earlier in May when State Rep. Brian Sims (D) posted a video of himself calling pro-life teenagers praying outside an abortion clinic “racist” and attempted to dox them by offering followers a $100 donation to Planned Parenthood if the teenagers could be identified. Sims shared another video of himself two weeks later of him berating a woman as she prayed outside a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood. The Democrat lawmaker is seen referring to the woman as an “old white lady” and mocking her Catholic faith.
Missouri lawmakers passed legislation on Friday to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, becoming the eighth state this year to pass strict pro-life abortion laws. On Wednesday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed the Alabama Human Life Protection Act, which bans nearly all abortions without exception. Late Tuesday evening, the State Senate passed the measure by a vote of 25-6. It allows zero exemptions for cases of rape and incest, and reclassifies abortion as a Class A felony, punishable by up to 99 years in jail for doctors who perform the procedure.