A women’s clinic in Manassas was vandalized this week following a leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion on abortion will increase its security.
On Sunday, May 7, sometime between 5 and 10 p.m., someone spraypainted “abortion is a right” and “liars” on the women’s health center walls. The First Care Women’s Health Health is in the 8600 block of Stonewall Road.
“Police are currently investigating this incident, and cases of vandalism are taken seriously and investigated to the fullest extent possible,” a city police spokesman said.
No one was injured. According to Becky Sheetz, chief executive officer at the clinic, the building landlord notified her about the vandalism.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen next. I don’t expect things to just blow over. We expect this issue of life is not going to go away. And those who are adversarial to our work are not just going to step aside no matter what happens,” Sheetz told Potomac Local News.
Sheetz said she would pay to have the graffiti removed.
Women’s First provides services to women struggling with unplanned pregnancies. “They typically don’t want to be pregnant. They’re frightened about this pregnancy. It’s unplanned, and they need a place to come, a safe place to find out. Number one, are they really pregnant?” said Sheetz.
The clinic’s donors cover the cost of pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and counseling provided at no-cost to their patients. Some patients lack housing, while others struggle with addiction, said Sheetz.
The clinic is one of the multiple women’s health centers across the U.S. vandalized in the wake of an unprecedented leak from the U.S. Supreme Court that indicated justices would overturn a 49-year-old court order, Roe vs. Wade, mandating the legalization of abortion in all states. If true, state legislatures would decide if abortion would be legal, and the high court could make the ruling this summer.
The leak sparked outrage from those who support a federal abortion access mandate. Many protested outside the Fairfax County home of Justice Samuel Alito, shouting, “if we don’t get what we want, shut it down.”
“We pray for those people who would try to harm us, who would wish us ill. They don’t understand what we do. They don’t understand that we’re here to help women make a fully informed choice. So we sympathize with them because they’re uninformed, and we just pray that their damage is minimal. We want to keep our people and our patients safe,” added Sheetz.
The clinic treats an average of 600 patients a year. Those who want to help the clinic may donate by clicking this link.
