On 25 November 2023, pro-abortion protesters gathered outside the headquarters of Pro Vita & Famiglia and attacked it with stones, bottles, smoke bombs, and even Molotov cocktails. The same office was vandalised earlier this year, as reported by SPUC.
The demonstration marked the International Day of Violence Against Women. A day after the protest turned violent, an explosive device, apparently set by pro-abortion vandals, was found unexploded at the headquarters.
Pro Vita & Famiglia condemned the “violent, dangerous and ideological movement that does not tolerate those who think differently than them and that does not care about poor women who are victims of femicide”.
Jacopo Coghe, the group’s vice president, noted the silence of journalists and politicians who refused to cover or condemn the vandals. “Whoever does not condemn is an accomplice!”
However, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni did condemn the “unacceptable” attack, “especially if you ravage it in the name of women who have been raped, beaten, or killed”.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “There is an obvious double standard when attacks on pro-life individuals and offices are not reported on or condemned by the same pro-abortion media that labels peaceful anti-abortion vigils as ‘aggressive’ or even ‘violent’ protests.
“The reality is that abortion is necessarily violent, since it kills an unborn baby, and its idealogues are increasingly turning to violence to suppress the truth that pro-life groups like Pro Vita & Famiglia and SPUC communicate peacefully.
“When people can only use violence, not to win a debate but kill it, this is a clear sign that their cause is unjust and ultimately founded on untruth. Those who value truth and civility must call out such barbarous acts or risk living in a world where only might is right.”
