Judge taunts elderly pro-life woman after prison sentence

Federal judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly taunted 75-year-old Paulette Harlow in court last week after sentencing Harlow to two years in prison for protesting abortion.

Interfering with abortions is a felony

Harlow is one of nine pro-life taxpayers sentenced to prison for demonstrating at an abortion facility in Washington, DC in 2020. The Justice Department accused the demonstrators of blocking access to services and barricading themselves in the facility. 

According to the government and Judge Kollar-Kotelly, the protesters violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a felony “to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone” who provides abortion services.

Elderly grandmother sentenced to prison despite poor health

The defendants were convicted last year, and all of them were immediately remanded into custody except Harlow. Because of her poor health, the 75-year-old was placed under house arrest for the last seven months.

Harlow’s health issues, however, did not stop Judge Kollar-Kotelly last week from sentencing the grandmother of eight to 24 months in prison and 36 months supervised release. Harlow’s husband, John, made an impassioned plea to the judge for mercy.

“I feel like Paulette is dying,” he said. “In my heart, I think she’s having a hard time staying alive.” He added that he takes care of his wife and would gladly take her place in prison. “We’re throwing ourselves on the mercy of the court,” he pleaded.

Judge taunts defendant: ‘Make an effort to remain alive’

But the plea appeared to have little effect on Kollar-Kotelly. According to LiveAction, the judge taunted Harlow by suggesting the elderly woman “make an effort to remain alive” because that is a “tenet of [Harlow’s] religion.”

For her part, Harlow had expressed no remorse for the protest in her statement before the court.

“We were there because we are compassionate, we do care, and we love them,” she said. “It’s despicable that in this country we have pregnant women and we can’t do anything to help them except offer to kill their child. That’s not help at all.”

“It’s not good healthcare when one of the people involved has to die,” the mother of six continued, adding: “I don’t think women are being cared for properly in this country. Offering them abortion is only taking advantage of them when they are afraid.”

Federal government uses FACE Act to persecute pro-life Americans

Harlow’s co-defendant, Lauren Handy, was sentenced last month to nearly five years in prison and three years of supervised release.

The FACE Act is used regularly by federal authorities to crack down on pro-life Americans. 

Last month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) brought a lawsuit against seven taxpayers and their organizations, Red Rose Rescue and Citizens for a Pro-Life Society. The complaint accused the defendants of violating the FACE Act.

On June 4, 2021, the defendants protested in front of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio’s Bedford Heights Surgery Center (BHSC) and Northeast Ohio Women’s Center (NOWC). The demonstrators sat, laid down, and kneeled in front of walkways and entrances. They pleaded with women entering the abortion facilities to reconsider their visits.

The protestors included Clara McDonald, Monica Miller, Christopher Moscinski, Audrey Whipple, Lauren Handy, Monica Miller, Jay Smith, and Laura Gies. They were arrested by police and charged with trespassing.

If found guilty, each defendant may be sentenced to prison and/or fined $20,516 for initial violations of the FACE Act and up to $30,868 for each violation thereafter. The Justice Department is also requesting that the defendants be forced to pay up to $5,000 in damages to any “victims.”