Pro-abortion-rights militants mistakenly attacked a pregnancy assistance center in Portland after Roe v. Wade was overturned, upset staffers said Monday.
Mother and Child Education Center executive director Maura White, a self-described pro-choice liberal, told Fox News that her Oregon nonprofit helps young mothers and babies in need and has no official stand on the contentious abortion-rights issue roiling the nation.
“My organization, we are nonprofit, and we help moms, families, kids in need, babies from zero to 5 years old,” she said. “We’re just there to help people. And so they mistakenly thought that we were out here doing anti-abortion and everything. The violence was horrible.”
The nonprofit suffered at least $10,000 in damage after protesters smashed windows and spray-painted slogans Saturday, White said.
She said local police warned her in advance of potential attacks and were sympathetic after the destruction took place.
Broken windows are boarded up behind a spray-painted sign at Mother and Child Education Center in Portland, Oregon, on June 26, 2022.
The property was vandalized by demonstrators the night of June 25, 2022.
The center, which claims not to be an anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center, connects mothers and children to social services.
But she noted that local cops have become notably less vigilant when it comes to crime in the wake of the “defund the police” sentiment in the area.
“I do feel that the ‘defund the police’ movement has definitely impacted their ability to be more proactive in the street,” she said. “It’s really unfortunate.”
White, a Democrat, said she supports the right to protest but denounced the wave of unrest that has rocked Portland in the wake of the US Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe v. Wade, which federally guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion.
“Free speech is not smashing in the very businesses that are helping people, that are helping children,” she said.
Executive director Maura White said the “violence was horrible.”
White said her center assists those who have already decided to bear their children.
“They’ve already made that choice,” she said, adding that her organization has been under attack on social media. “They don’t understand what we do.”
The nonprofit helps new mothers struggling with being able to afford diapers, strollers and other basic necessities.
“They love their kids,” she said. “We’re just helping them be the best parents they can be.”
While insurance will help pay for some of the damage, White said she has a high deductible and will inevitably have to foot some of the costs.
“It’s so not fair,” she said.
* Article from: The New York Post