FROM SFLA NEWS

What Does it Mean to Get Doxed as a Member of the Pro-Life Movement?

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Caroline Wharton - 28 Mar 2022

Political threats and harassment come in all different forms, and one particular avenue of harassment that may be trending upwards for the pro-life movement is doxing. Doxing, “an anti-democratic tactic for punishing and silencing people using their freedom of speech,” is when an individual’s private information (such as their home address) is released to the public—or more importantly, to the unhinged who may use such information for harm.  

An op-ed on this topic, by Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins, was recently published at The Federalist and entitled “Pro-Life Should Prepare for More Doxing as Abortion Activists’ Rage Inflames.”  

What Does it Mean to Get Doxed

She writes, “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.”  

Making the point that a new strand of doxing occurred in Canada with the Freedom Convoy, Hawkins continues, “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.”’  

What Does it Mean to Get Doxed

“…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…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.”  

Click HERE to read the rest of the article at The Federalist. 

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