Asheville police: Mountain Area Pregnancy Services vandalized, threatened
ASHEVILLE - Police are searching for the person or people who spray-painted a local pregnancy services clinic with the words "If abortions aren't safe, neither are you!" and busted out windows, according to a news release.
Officers with the department were called to Mountain Area Pregnancy Services in West Asheville around 7:20 a.m. June 7 to investigate the report of vandalism, according to the release.
"Upon arrival, officers found that someone had spray-painted the business with red graffiti, with the threatening wording, 'If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you!' and an anarchist symbol on the front of the building," the release says. "They also found the wording, 'No forced birth' on the side."
"It saddens us," said Executive Director Kristi Brown. "We're heartbroken over this. The emotions that our team is experiencing (are) all over the board, right? ... One moment you're sad, you're angry, you're frustrated. Then you're glad no one was harmed."
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The incident happened sometime on the night of June 6, according to police.
No one was at the building at the time, Brown said, and the clinic is continuing to provide services.
The inside of the building is "not really damaged," she said, except for paint on some windows and broken glass in the lobby.
Officers investigating the scene "found signs that an offender may have injured themselves," and forensic technicians "were able to obtain blood samples left behind from a broken window and a bloody trail," according to police.
"An unplanned pregnancy is often an unwanted pregnancy and those involved may feel as if abortion is the only choice," a page on the center's website says. "MAPS exists to provide women and men accurate information on their choices in a compassionate environment."
"We don't refer for and we don't perform abortions, but we will engage them in conversations about what will happen if they make that choice," Brown said.
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A page on the business' website lists "risks" with an abortion. It also provides information on access to "abortion pill reversal" and "abortion recovery facilitators."
Politico first reported in May that the U.S. Supreme Court plan to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to a draft opinion. For almost five decades, Roe has served as a legal precedent, ensuring a constitutional right to abortion.
"There are people that, I don't agree with them on topics, but I don't go and vandalize them," Brown said, commenting on the vandalism generally.
"If someone does not have an understanding of us, come talk to us," she said. "Don't make assumptions on what we do."
Police ask anyone with information to submit it with the TIP2APD smartphone app, text TIP2APD to 847411 or call the department directly at 828-252-1110.
Ryan Oehrli is the breaking news and social justice reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email coehrli@citizentimes.com or call/text 252-944-6816 for tips.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Police: Mountain Area Pregnancy Services vandalized, threatened
