A 73-year-old Illinois man was sentenced to five years in prison for crashing his car into an abortion clinic and trying to set the building on fire. According to reproductive health care advocates, this has been part of a spike in the violence and harassment against such facilities since the end of Roe v. Wade.
U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce ordered Philip J. Buyno to serve three years of supervised release and to pay more than $327,000 in restitution. The sentence came after Buyno pleaded guilty in September 2023. He pled to a federal charge of attempting to use fire to damage a building used in interstate commerce.
In addition, Buyno admitted that on May 20, 2023, he drove his car into the entrance of a commercial building in Danville. He also said he brought several containers filled with gasoline to burn the structure down before it could be used as an abortion clinic.
Danville police officers, while responding to an alarm, found Buyno stuck in a maroon Volkswagen Passat. The authorities found gasoline, a hatchet, road flares, and a pack of matches. They also discovered that Buyno had fortified the trunk of his car with wooden beams to set the abortion clinic ablaze.
ALSO READ: Three Arrested by Feds in High-End Brothel Network Scandal
“Our office strongly condemns the defendant’s attempt to prevent women in our community from accessing important reproductive health services,” U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois Gregory K. Harris said in a statement. “We are committed to prosecuting such crimes. And we thank our federal and local law enforcement officers for their critical work in pursuing this case.”
National Abortion Federation, a national association for abortion providers, released a report that found violence against providers and clinics rose in the past year. This was due to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.
“As clinics closed in states with bans, extremists have simply shifted their focus to the states where abortion remains legal and protected,” Melissa Fowler, the chief program officer at the National Abortion Federation, said in a statement on the report. “Our members have reported a major increase in assaults, stalking, and burglaries.”
In 2023, federal prosecutors charged over ten people after they allegedly targeted abortion clinics, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Officials accused four people of vandalizing the facilities with spray-painted threats. They wrote, “If abortions aren’t safe, then neither are you,” and “We’re coming for U” on walls.
Consequently, several Illinois abortion providers held a roundtable event with lawmakers. They urged them to curb the vandalism and intimidation that has recently disturbed reproductive health care statewide and across the nation.
ALSO READ: San Diego Airport Overrun as Over 300 Migrants Move in
“The tactics of obstructing clinic entrances and threatening violence create a climate of fear,” said Yamelsie Rodriguez, president and CEO of Advocates of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region. “It has also systematically marginalized abortion care from the broader spectrum of healthcare services.”
“This orchestrated campaign of intimidation has had a profound effect on community perceptions. It has also impacted access to abortion care,” Rodriguez also added. She pressed legislators to “partner with providers to take whatever measures are available.” She urged them to ensure reproductive services are free from violence and intimidation.
The year Roe fell, nearly 17,000 patients traveled to Illinois from other states for abortion care. As a result, there was a 49% increase over the 11,000 patients who came from out of state in 2021. Illinois is a critical access point in the Midwest. As a result, abortion providers are targets for violence and aggressive harassment from anti-abortion extremists.
You Might Also Like:
Company To Pay 65-Year-Old Woman $105,000 in Back Pay and Damages for Firing Her
Taylor Swift Takes Legal Action Against Florida Student Tracking Her Jet
Grieving Mum Demands Stronger Protection for Kids After Son’s Tragic Drug-Related Death
Virginia Officials Arrest Two for Pride Flag Theft
Rob Schneider Slams United Airlines, Says His Family Will No Longer Fly the Airline
