Project Defending Life, a Pro-Life group that operates a pregnancy resource center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, suffered a devastating arson attack last week. In the early morning hours of the day before Thanksgiving, law enforcement notified the directors of Project Defending Life that there was a break-in and fire at the Pro-Life center.
Project Defending Life, which runs Women’s Pregnancy Options, is located across from a Planned Parenthood that commits abortions. Additionally, there is a late-term abortion center a few miles from the Planned Parenthood and the Pro-Life group. Albuquerque, New Mexico, is infamously known as the late-term abortion capital of the United States. The city is home to dangerous abortion mills that commit abortions late in pregnancy. New Mexico does not have any laws restricting abortion, and every week, women travel to Albuquerque from around the world for abortions into the ninth month of pregnancy.
Dominique Davis, the Director of Client Services at Women’s Pregnancy Options, said in an update last week that the arsonist destroyed the center’s chapel and set a second fire in the foyer, which had Pro-Life signs and literature. The structure suffered extensive damage from the two fires, and will be closed for an undetermined length of time as the Pro-Life group tries to rebuild. Currently, the facility has no power.
Sadly, the many women who regularly come to the center to receive assistance, such as parenting classes and baby items, will not be able to access the Pro-Life resources offered by Women’s Pregnancy Options. Davis said, “Many of our clients are able to find jobs and housing through our services, and we are saddened with the reality that we will have to put our assistance to clients and the public on hold.”
The strength of the abortion industry in Albuquerque makes the arson particularly devastating. In a city where women are given so many options to kill their preborn children, strong Pro-Life voices are all the more needed to give women alternatives to abortion.
Kristen Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America did not shy away from calling the violent act a “hate crime.” She expressed her outrage in a statement, and described Project Defending Life as “a peaceful organization whose only aim is to help women facing unplanned pregnancies.” She continued:
The domestic terrorists who committed this heinous act must be found and brought to justice. Planned Parenthood of ABQ and other pro-abortion forces must denounce this act immediately. Violence has no place in our society, regardless of whether it is committed upon the most defenseless preborn child or a peaceful pro-life office.
Hawkins has visited the center and knows the students at the University of New Mexico who volunteer frequently at Project Defending Life.
As Pro-Lifers in Albuquerque begin the long project of rebuilding, they remain undaunted. Davis described their commitment, saying:
While this intentional evil act was meant to scare us and inhibit us from doing our work, those who committed this crime can be assured it has not. There are still many women in need of assistance and support, not including the 15 women we are currently helping with housing, job placement, and parenting support long term. While our building may be finished, we are not, and we will find another place to set up.
Texas Right to Life sends our prayers to Albuquerque. We are grateful that no one was injured in this act of violence, and we will be following the ongoing investigation.
