Lauren Handy

Lauren Handy
Handy in 2022 protesting capital punishment
Nationality	American
Citizenship	United States
Occupation	Anti-abortion activist
Criminal status	Pardoned
Conviction(s)	Violation of Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (18 U.S.C. § 248)
Criminal penalty	57 months in prison; 3 years of supervised release

Lauren Handy is an American anti-abortion activist.

On October 22, 2020, Handy and four others from the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising blocked access to an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. She and the other protesters used their bodies, chains, ropes, and furniture to block the doors. In 2022, Washington DC police found the remains of 5 fetuses at Handy's apartment. She was arrested, and in May 2024, she was sentenced to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On January 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a pardon to Handy and her nine co-defendants.

Handy grew up as a Southern Baptist. Her father is a painter. She was molested as a child by a non-family member.^[1]

She attended Central Virginia Community College with the intent of working in a museum as an art historian.^[1][2] While there, she was both pro-life and agnostic. A student at nearby Liberty University invited her to go sidewalk counseling. Handy was moved by the experience of seeing women walking into an abortion clinic, and started to attend church several days a week.^[2] Six weeks later she skipped her final exams, dropped out of school, sold all her belongings, and moved to California to become a full-time activist with Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust.^[1][2]

She has lived with several congregations of the Missionaries of Charity, including one in Haiti, where she worked in a hospice.^[1][2]

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Handy is an anarcho-mutualist and strictly opposed to abortion.^[2][3] She believes abortion is an act of violence.^[1]

Handy has been involved with a number of activist organizations.^[3] Handy has been in a leadership role of the Red Rose Rescue movement since its founding.^[3] As a sidewalk counselor, Handy employs an LGBT+ inclusive message and has been to more than 100 abortion clinics in more than 32 states.^[3][2] Handy is currently the Director of Activism for the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising.^[4]

She has been arrested more than 30 times.^{[3][2][non-primary source needed]}

In 2019, Handy and four others were charged with felony resisting arrest, misdemeanor trespass and disturbing the peace after an incident at an abortion clinic in Flint Township, Michigan. The protestors entered the Women's Center of Flint, handed roses to women in the waiting room, sang songs and refused to leave, forcing police to carry them from the business.^[5] Handy ultimately spent four days in jail.^[1]

On October 22, 2020, Handy and four others from the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising blocked access to an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C.^[1][6][7] Handy made an appointment at the clinic under a fake name.^[6][7] Once inside, she and the other protesters used their bodies, chains, ropes, and furniture to block the doors.^[6][7] The protest was livestreamed on Facebook.^[6] In 2024, she was arrested and convicted for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act based on this incident.^[8][9]

In November 2021, Handy and five others entered the waiting room of the Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic. Once inside, they began occupying the building, handing out roses to women and advocating against abortion. Handy was sentenced to 30 days in jail for trespass.^[10][11]

Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising claimed five women chose not to have abortions as a result of the protest.^[4]

On March 30, 2022, Washington DC police found the remains of 5 fetuses at Handy's apartment.^[12]

Handy and fellow activist Terrisa Bukovinac stated that they were among 115 fetuses they had obtained on March 25, 2022, from a medical waste transportation company outside of the Washington Surgi-Clinic. According to Bukovinac, the women went to the clinic to perform what they call a “pink rose rescue” when they noticed a Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services truck outside. The women say they approached the driver of the truck and told him the packages he was transporting might contain fetal remains, and asked if he could hand over a box. The driver purportedly complied when they informed him they would give the remains "a proper burial and a funeral". Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services has refuted this claim, stating it does not transport fetal remains by company policy and has also denied that any package was ever handed over. ^[13]

Handy and Bukovinac alleged that inside the box were 110 fetal remains that were the result of first trimester abortions, which were buried in a private cemetery with the help of a Catholic priest^[14], along with the 5 others police had discovered in Handy's apartment. Handy and Bukovinac believed these 5 to be the result of third trimester partial-birth abortions, a procedure outlawed in 2003 by the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. The activists said that their lawyer had asked the police to retrieve the remaining fetuses from Handy's home as evidence of violation of federal law. ^[15][16]

While Bukovinac and Handy have called for a full autopsy of the fetuses, the D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office has said the five fetuses recovered from Handy’s home all appear to have been aborted in accordance with D.C. law, and that while there were no plans to conduct an autopsy, an inquiry was ongoing as to the origin of the remains and how they were obtained.^[13][17]

Handy was never charged with a crime in relation to the incident,^[6][7] but her landlord terminated her lease.^[2]

In response to her 2020 DC incident, Handy and others were convicted of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.^[6][18] On May 14, 2024, she was sentenced to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release.^[8]

Her defense lawyer argued that she was only a genuine activist who was simply involved in an act of peaceful, non-violent protest. The prosecution disputed this characterization using testimonial and surveillance footage as evidence.^[8][9]

One patient testified that she came to the clinic to abort a pregnancy which had a defect incompatible with life. She testified that she collapsed in pain whilst her husband begged Handy and her compatriots to let her into the clinic. ^[9] Surveillance footage was also entered into evidence showing another patient attempting to break in through a window to bypass the blockade, as well as showing a clinic employee being knocked down into the ground and sustaining a severe knee sprain.^[8]

The judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, sided with the prosecution, and assessed that "The law does not protect violent and obstructive conduct".^[8] Kollar-Kotelly did however agree with the defense lawyer's argument that Handy was a principled activist and so reduced her sentence from 63-78 months to 57 months plus three years probation, during which she could not come within 1000 feet of a reproductive health clinic without authorization.^[8]

On January 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a pardon to Handy and her nine co-defendants.^[19]

Handy is a queer convert to Catholicism.^[2][3][4]