Anti-abortion activist who led a clinic blockade is sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — An anti-abortion activist who led others on an invasion and blockade of a reproductive health clinic in the nation’s capital has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison. Thirty-year-old Lauren Handy declined to address the court before a U.S. district judge sentenced her on Tuesday to four years and nine months in prison. Handy’s supporters applauded and called her a hero as she was led from the courtroom. Handy was among several people convicted of federal civil rights offenses for blockading access to the Washington Surgi-Clinic in October 2020. Prosecutors say a co-defendant accosted a woman who was having labor pains and prevented her from getting off a floor.