By Anne Reed
UPDATE 6/1/23: The GoFundMe page linked below is no longer active after nearly $42,000 worth of donations were received.
Baltimore, Maryland – On Friday, May 26, two pro-life sidewalk advocates in their 70s and 80s were brutally attacked while praying and reaching out to abortion vulnerable women at a Planned Parenthood in Baltimore Maryland. The vicious, unprovoked assault left the two pro-life heroes, Dick Schaefer and Mark Crosby (pictured above), unconscious and seriously injured.
Schaefer, a retired architect, was violently slammed against the glass of the building and is recovering at home after seeking medical attention at an urgent care facility. Crosby, a retired painter, risks losing his sight in one eye as a result of the assault.
The attacker and Schaefer were engaged in a brief, non-threatening conversation before Schaefer turned to retrieve the “blessing bags” he gives to abortion-minded women in an attempt to dissuade them from aborting their babies. At that moment, the attacker asked one of the Planned Parenthood escorts to hold his drink and violently attacked Schaefer from behind, knocking over a huge clay pot and knocking Schaefer out cold.
When Crosby tried to help Schaefer, he was struck in the face and then kicked in the head by the assailant who ran from the scene while both men lay unconscious. A nurse from the nearby pregnancy resource center ran to the scene to help, and Crosby was transported by ambulance to the University of Maryland Medical Center for emergency intervention. He was later admitted. The kick to his head shattered facial bones, reportedly requiring surgeons to rebuild them with metal plates.
Police have confirmed the accuracy of the detailed narratives provided by the two victims and eyewitnesses through video footage and are reportedly searching for the attacker.
A GoFundMe campaign has been initiated to help with Crosby’s extensive medical expenses. This page can also be used to send a note of encouragement.
The number of violent attacks on pro-lifers is growing in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal.
“These cowardly aggressors have a habit of attacking the most vulnerable, either elderly or young people,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “But that is to be expected when you consider that the source of their outrage is their misperceived right to murder the most vulnerable among us – innocent unborn babies.”
Machete-Bearing College Professor Abuses Pro-Life Students and Journalist
Last month, video footage emerged of an unhinged, pro-abortion professor at Hunter College provoking two pro-life students and trying to eradicate their educational display table. Soon after, another video was released showing the same woman holding a machete to the throat of a New York reporter who was seeking comments related to her raving, destructive behavior with the students.
88-Year-Old Pro-Life Man Hospitalized, Charges Filed Months Later
Last October, Ross Foti was rushed to a hospital emergency room and hospitalized with a punctured lung after being violently shoved onto a fire hydrant at San Mateo Planned Parenthood. It took months before charges were filed against his attacker for “Battery with Serious Bodily Injury” and “Battery on an Elder or Dependent Adult.” The arraignment took place on February 15, and, according to Life Legal Defense Foundation, the pretrial is expected to take place later this month.
Community Service for Shooting 84-Year-Old Pro-life Canvasser
Last Tuesday, Richard Harvey, a Michigan man, received one year of community service for shooting Joan Jacobson, an 84-year-old pro-life woman campaigning against a pro-abortion constitutional amendment last September. The perpetrator claimed he accidentally shot her after she and his wife debated concerning the ballot initiative.
Jacobson stated she was walking away when she was alarmed to see the man walking toward her with a rifle. She said by the time the image registered in her brain, she heard the shot and felt pain in her shoulder.
The elderly Jacobson stated, “I’m still in disbelief that this incident happened to me. I still wonder what was so offensive that I did or said in my brief encounter with Mrs. Harvey that made (Richard Harvey) decide I was a threat and needed to get a gun.”
Teen Girl Beaten and Verbally Assaulted
Shortly before that attack, a teen canvassing for the Kansas “Value Them Both” Constitutional Amendment ballot initiative last August was viciously attacked by a grown woman in Overland Park. The woman shoved the girl in the chest with both hands and hit her repeatedly in the head with closed fists. She proceeded to follow the teen down the street screaming expletives and cursing her with phrases such as, “I hope you get raped,” and “I hope you get run over by a car.”
“These appalling actions should not cause us to fear but to rise to the occasion,” said Newman.
“We need strong, capable men and women to protect unborn babies headed for slaughter. And we need to guard over each other in the process, especially the elderly and young. We need to be present at these killing centers with body cameras, in larger groups than ever – praying and speaking the truth in love.
“And, more than ever, pro-life activists need the support of the church – of fearless pastors and priests who will speak out against this great evil from the pulpit and encourage congregants to stand up for the oppressed.”
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