Woman sentenced for abortion clinic blockade, not praying | Fact check

The claim: 75-year-old woman imprisoned for 'praying outside an abortion clinic'

A June 6 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims an elderly woman was sent to prison for an act of religious expression.

"BREAKING! A DC judge just sentenced 75-year-old Paulette Harlow, who is in poor health, to 2 years in prison for praying outside an abortion clinic," reads part of the post's caption.

The post was shared more than 70 times in a week. The post text and images appear to be taken from a similar post on X, formerly Twitter, that was reposted more than 7,000 times in nine days.

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Our rating: False

Paula "Paulette" Harlow was sentenced to prison after she was convicted of a federal crime for chaining herself to other protestors while blocking access to an abortion clinic, not for praying outside of one. Court records and her attornery both confirm she was not charged over praying.

Woman sentenced for role in blockade at DC abortion clinic

Harlow, of Kingston, Massachusetts, was charged with nine other people accused of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act after the group "used force and physical obstruction" to blockade an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 22, 2020, according to a Justice Department news release.

Harlow was found guilty in November 2023 following a four-day bench trial. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her decision to convict that "overwhelming evidence demonstrates that (Harlow) conspired to obstruct access to abortion services at the clinic on October 22, 2020, and ultimately did so successfully."

Kollar-Kotelly also described Harlow's actions, which go far beyond "praying outside an abortion clinic," as the post claims. Harlow "invaded a reproductive health clinic" with the group, at one point "body-slamming the clinic manager into a waiting-room chair," Kollar-Kotelly wrote.

"With a bike lock affixed to her neck, (Harlow) then chained herself to four of her co-conspirators and blocked the main entrance to the clinic’s medical procedure area," the judge's decision says.

A video included in a series of X posts that repeat the claim shows Harlow and others inside the clinic being confronted by police.

Fact check: Tennessee man arrested for blocking access to abortion clinic, not praying

Kollar-Kotelly ordered Harlow to serve two years in prison, a sentence similar to those received by others charged in the incident.

Harlow's attorney, Allen Orenberg, told USA TODAY that she was not convicted or sentenced for praying outside of the abortion clinic. Instead, Orenberg said Harlow "was sentenced for forcefully entering and blocking access to the abortion clinic under the FACE Act."

Harlow and the others were charged with violating a federal law that, according to the Justice Department's Civil RightsDivision, "prohibits threats of force, obstruction and property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services." The law isn't new – it was passed in 1994 after an increase in violence toward abortion providers and their patients.

The law also explicitly states that it does not ban "expressive conduct, including peaceful picketing or other peaceful demonstration, protected from legal prohibition by the First Amendment."

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Reuters and the Associated Press also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Allen Orenberg, June 12, Email exchange with USA TODAY
• Justice Department, May 31, Final Defendant Sentenced for Federal Conspiracy Against Rights and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act Convictions Related to 2020 D.C. Clinic Invasion and Blockade
• Justice Department, Nov. 16, 2023, Ninth Defendant Convicted of Federal Conspiracy Against Rights and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) Offenses for 2020 Washington, D.C., Clinic Invasion and Blockade
• U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, May 31, Final Defendant Sentenced for Federal Civil Rights Conspiracy and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Offenses
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Nov. 16, 2023, Paula Harlow Opinion
• Justice Department, accessed June 12, Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act
• Legal Information Institute, accessed June 12, 18 U.S. Code § 248 - Freedom of access to clinic entrances
• @JoelWBerry, June 3, X post

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