Suspect arrested for severly injuring pro-life activists outside of Planned Parenthood
The suspect who severely beat two elderly pro-life activists outside an abortion clinic last summer has been arrested as the pro-life movement continues to face increased violence amid a volatile political climate.
The American Center for Law and Justice, which represents two elderly pro-life activists who were brutally beaten outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Baltimore, Maryland, last year, announced Thursday that an arrest was made in connection with the attack.
While the legal organization did not release the suspect's name or information about him, it described the development as a "major breakthrough."
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Mark Crosby and Dick Schaefer were assaulted as they engaged in pro-life advocacy outside of a Baltimore Planned Parenthood clinic in May 2023. An image shared on social media by Jay Walton of Baltimore County Right to Life shows the injuries sustained by Crosby, who was 84 years old at the time.
The image documented how the area above Crosby's right eye was severely swollen in the aftermath of the attack as the eye itself was shut and streams of blood ran down the right side of his face. The T-shirt Crosby was wearing was also stained during the attack.
Crosby sustained the injuries as he attempted to intervene when the attacker targeted Schaefer, who was 73 years old at the time. Pro-life activist Jody Ward elaborated on the events that unfolded outside the abortion clinic in a social media post shortly after the incident, explaining that an "angry man" confronted Crosby and Schaefer.
"As Dick's back was turned, he lifted Dick off the ground and threw him into the plate glass window," she wrote. "Dick fell, knocking over a large planter and striking his head, losing conscience temporarily."
Ward detailed how "Mark came to Dick's aid," which prompted the attacker to set his sights on Crosby by "punching him in the face." After Crosby "fell to the ground," the suspect "kicked Mark in the head."
"Mr. Crosby's plate bone in his upper right cheek is completely fractured and the bones in his right eye orbit are completely shattered and will have to be replaced with metal," Baltimore County Right to Life noted in a statement published shortly after the attack.
The American Center for Law and Justice went into further detail about the injuries sustained by the elderly pro-life activists in the attack.
"Both men sustained extensive injuries," the ACLJ stated. "Mr. Schaefer had cuts and scrapes all over his body, as well as a cut on his hand that required special bandaging. Mr. Crosby sustained traumatic injuries to his head, including a fractured bone in his face, blindness in one eye, head and neck pain, two fractured fingers, and bruising on his arms and legs. Mr. Crosby required several surgeries on his face."
While the ACLJ did not name the assailant, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 1.
The violence directed at Crosby and Schaefer is just one example of attacks pro-life activists have faced following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which determined that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion.
In the summer of 2022, a teenage pro-life activist was assaulted as she engaged in door-knocking on behalf of the pro-life group Students for Life of America ahead of a referendum taking place in Kansas that would have declared that the state's Constitution did not contain a right to abortion. The referendum ultimately did not pass and a 37-year-old woman was arrested in connection with the assault.
Later that year, an elderly pro-life volunteer was shot in the shoulder as she embarked on a door-knocking campaign advocating against a ballot measure that would have established a right to abortion in Michigan's Constitution. The referendum ended up passing, and the perpetrator of the shooting was arrested.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
