John,

I want to tell you about the incredible heroism of Joan Bell, a pregnancy center founder, adoptive mother, and pro-life activist.

Joan, who is 74, is unjustly facing up to 11 years in prison at the hands of the Biden Department of Justice for her peaceful pro-life rescues.

As we prepare for the 4th annual Life Awards Gala this weekend, I’m thinking about last year, when Joan accepted one of the Life Awards on behalf of pro-life advocate Mary Wagner.

Joan is herself a pro-life hero.

She is known as the "matriarch of pro-life activism" for her 50 years of non-violent sit-ins and Red Rose Rescues at abortion facilities. (A Red Rose Rescue is when pro-lifers peacefully offer a red rose to women entering abortion facilities and they engage with the mothers to help them embrace life.)

Right now, the Department of Justice is targeting her for peacefully protecting preborn babies from being brutally killed in the womb.

She is standing trial on charges of conspiracy against rights and FACE Act violations for protesting the D.C.-based Washington Surgi-Clinic, run by late-term abortionist Cesare Santangelo. Santangelo was caught on camera (by Live Action) in 2012 admitting that if a baby were to survive a late-term abortion, he and his staff "would not help it."

This is not the first time Joan has been arrested for peaceful pro-life activism. In fact, she’s been arrested over 100 times and has spent 6 years in prison, including 2.5 years in solitary confinement.

When asked about confinement experience, she said: “I did get claustrophobic at times but when you thank Jesus for everything, it just leaves you,” she said.

“That panic, that claustrophobia — when you say, ‘Thank you, Jesus for this little bit I can do for you,’ and you think of the babies when they are dismembered alive without an anesthetic. And you say, this is nothing, you know.”

Joan is truly a saintly woman, a pro-life hero, and we stand by her.  

For Life,

Lila Rose

President and Founder