Reps. Andrew Clyde and Jody Hice of Georgia sent a letter to the head of the University of Georgia on Friday, urging him to ensure that the University’s resources would not be utilized to “target crisis pregnancy centers.”
The letter comes after Fox News published a story saying that “far-left radicals” had been targeting crisis pregnancy centers in the wake of the Roe v. Wade decision. The groups had been using a map created by the UGA professors in 2018 containing the addresses of crisis pregnancy centers across the country.
Crisis pregnancy centers are women’s reproductive care clinics that aim to assist pregnant women and help them decide against having the child-killing procedure.
“While this academic project may seem to be rooted in innocence, providing the collated address data of these crisis pregnancy centers makes it unquestionably ripe for abuse. It is disappointing that the state’s flagship university is allowing taxpayer-funded resources to provide this sensitive information to extremist organizations that are actively targeting crisis pregnancy center,” Clyde said in a statement.
“The unhinged Left will stop at nothing to eradicate anything – or anyone – who opposes their radical pro-abortion agenda. And unfortunately, the University of Georgia’s resources are being used by radical organizations to identify their next targets. The professors’ project is reckless and irresponsible. The University must take swift action to cut all ties with it,” said Hice.
The map in question aims to “help individuals seeking health services know which centers are [crisis pregnancy centers]” and “facilitate academic research related to [crisis pregnancy centers],” according to its website.
Some groups, such as Colorado Liberation & Autonomy, posted links to the map with threatening sentiments, raising concern about violence in protest of the recent change in abortion access nationwide.
Defend reproductive rights.
If abortions are not safe, neither are you.https://t.co/kGiUwjqXjw
-Received via anonymous email submission. pic.twitter.com/OYC8nTVJmF
— Colorado Liberation & Autonomy (COLA) (@AutonomyCola) June 24, 2022
Some of the facilities on the Crisis Pregnancy Center Map have been subjected to vandalism and property damage following these calls for violence via social media.
Puget Sound Anarchists, an Antifa-aligned website run out of Washington state, linked to the map in a post about vandalism.
“You can find your nearest fake abortion clinic on the Crisis Pregnancy Center Map,” the post said, linking to the map.
A wave of violence has swept across pro-life pregnancy clinics since the Dobbs decision first leaked last month. A group calling itself Jane’s Revenge was credited with the firebombing of a Wisconsin pregnancy clinic last month and dozens of other attacks since then.
