Thomas More Society Vows Appeal in Lauren Handy Conviction

The Thomas More Society decried the guilty verdict handed down by a "federal court fraught with bias" and vowed an appeal on behalf of pro-life advocate Lauren Handy, who faces up to 11 years in prison for illegally blockading a Washington, D.C., abortion facility nearly three years ago.

Handy and four co-defendants were convicted of felony federal civil rights conspiracy and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act offenses in a D.C. courtroom on Tuesday.

A jury convicted Handy, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, William Goodman, and Herb Geraghty on all counts after they were arrested and charged in March, 2022. They were accused of using chains, bike locks, and ropes to block off the entrance to the Washington Surgi-Clinic, in violation of the 1994 FACE Act, which prohibits physically obstructing or using the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services.

"In the latest effort to chill pro-life speech and activism, a federal court jury fraught with bias has delivered the [President Joe] Biden Department of Justice the conviction of several life advocates," TC Public Relations said in an email on behalf of Handy and the Thomas More Society, which vowed it will appeal.

"We are, of course, disappointed with the outcome," senior counsel Martin Cannon said in the release. "Ms. Handy has been condemned for her efforts to protect the lives of innocent preborn human beings, something she should never have been arrested for. We are preparing an appeal and will continue to defend those who fight for life against a Biden Department of Justice that seems intent on prosecuting those who decry abortion and present it as it is — the intentional killing of children in utero."

Prosecutors said Handy was the leader of the group who orchestrated the blockade in October, 2020. Police later discovered five fetuses in the Capitol Hill row house basement where Handy had been staying. Handy was not charged in that matter.

Handy and her co-defendants were remanded to custody after the verdict. They also face three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $350,000.

The other four who were arrested in the 2020 incident are scheduled to go on trial next week.