As tension rises in the United States in anticipation of the Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the pro-life movement may again be subjected to merciless doxing, or the release of personal information to increase targeted attacks.
Doxing, an anti-democratic tactic for punishing and silencing people using their freedom of speech, has once again reared its ugly head to muzzle political rights, most recently, in Canada with supporters of the Freedom Convoy. Those contributing to Canadian truckers protesting the Covid-19 vaccine mandates were assailed for their beliefs after the security breach of a fundraising site.
The names of donors obtained by hacking were released to the public through media outlets, and private individuals were castigated for their minimal involvement. The New York Post notes that we can “say goodbye to anonymous free speech” if the media continues to perpetuate doxing.
Many Examples of Doxing the Pro-Life
Members of the pro-life movement have also been subjected to doxing in many different forms over the years. The abortion industry has even orchestrated pro-life doxing multiple times, both on a mass scale and on an individual basis.
For example, in June 2021, a group of Argentinian journalists funded by the International Planned Parenthood Federation published a “black list” of almost 400 names of individuals who opposed a new abortion law in Argentina. Later in 2021, Planned Parenthood publicly exposed the private residential information of a Texas Right to Life staffer, resulting in numerous threats that stated “I know where you live.”
Doxing is not reserved for adults, either — in fact, abortion activists appear to enjoy bullying children. We saw this in 2019 when Pennsylvania pro-abortion Rep. Brian Sims uploaded a video of himself berating young teenagers who were praying outside of an abortion facility, yelling, “So, here’s the deal: I’ve got $100 for anyone who will identify any of these three.”
In the same year, abortion supporters also defamed and doxed pro-life student Nicholas Sandmann on social media, prompting his father to support anti-doxing state legislation, and leading to multi-millions in legal damages.
But not everyone gets a financial settlement when his rights are violated. Despite being aggressive and threatening toward young, peaceful, female protesters, Sims is somehow still in office in the state of Pennsylvania. Sure, he offered an apology to the intimidated young girls, but only five months later — long after he had offered an initial apology to Planned Parenthood as he believed his actions reflected poorly on them and caused a “distraction.”
Doxing the Freedom Convoy
The doxing that occurred in Canada with the Freedom Convoy is different and worrisome if it becomes a trend. Consider small-business owner Tammy Giuliani, who for a donation of $250 to the Freedom Convoy was forced to close her shop due to threats against her employees. She told media that the resulting debt will “probably take seven years to pay off.”
Crushing a business via doxing suffocates and violates the rights of ordinary citizens who have the courage to fund a cause they support. These aren’t citizens who are publicly making political statements or engaging in public civic action, although doxing in these cases would be wrong too. Instead, these are citizens who choose to participate quietly and privately through financial assistance.
But the radical opposition does not care. Like a two-edged sword, doxing will punish both those who speak and those who fund speech.
Another Degree of Doxing
The abortion lobby has also flirted with this kind of doxing in the United States.
Despite a landmark case in 1958 that protected National Association for the Advancement of Colored People membership lists through the reasoning that “lawful private interests” should be protected under the Fourteenth Amendment, the rabidly pro-abortion state of California recently attempted to force nonprofits to file a list of their large donors within the state. The Supreme Court struck down this law in 2021, saying that it would have a chilling effect on First Amendment rights.
Additionally, a bill ironically called the For the People Act of 2021 (which would be better known as the For the Powerful People in Washington D.C. Act) was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives for the purpose of controlling non-profits — including exposing the donors of non-profits. Thankfully, due in part to efforts by the pro-life generation, this dangerous bill was stunted and has not moved since being received by the Senate.
The abortion lobby is obviously willing to go after ordinary people to intimidate them into silence, but our cause is strong enough to bear that cross. If our community is met with such aggression, we will not stand down. We’ll stand together and fight back.
