Though a rise in vandalism and intimidation of Catholic and pro-life organizations has been documented since at least 2020, the current spate of attacks has been spurred on by the June 24 overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme court, which returned the question of abortion policy to the states, leading to abortion bans in many parts of the country.
Some of the reported vandalism incidents we've tracked appear to be copycat attacks. For example, several of the graffiti incidents featured the threatening phrase “If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you,” which seems to have first appeared on a pro-life pregnancy center in Wisconsin in early May.
The U.S. Catholic bishops have documented more than 100 church attacks since 2020, and are pleading for an end to the violence.
The interactive map below shows notable attacks in the United States that have been reported in the past several months. The map includes attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and other organizations, as well as attacks on Catholic churches that were specifically related to the Church’s pro-life stance.
Click on the individual dots to get details about each incident. This map will be continuously updated, so check back often. If the map isn't displaying correctly for you, click here to open it in a new window.
