John Hinshaw, 69, is one of nine pro-lifers arrested in August 2023 after entering a District of Columbia third-trimester abortion clinic, trying to convince women not to abort their children. Christopher Bell, president and executive director of Good Counsel maternity homes in New York, has nothing but words of praise for Hinshaw.
"John has worked with the mentally ill nearly his entire adult life – as a social worker, as a case manager – and he has tremendous compassion," Bell tells AFN. "He helped encourage me in my main ministry, helping homeless, pregnant, and parenting young women and children to work with those moms who have special needs, mental health and addiction issues."
Hinshaw's career focused on homeless mental patients, alcoholics, and drug addicts, and he also spent time rescuing babies from abortion. But as Bell explains, Hinshaw was arrested on federal charges including violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
"He was charged with conspiracy against rights and FACE, was convicted in a D.C. court in August, and has been imprisoned immediately because the judge determined what they did was violent and that they had to be restrained," he describes.
So, Hinshaw has been in jail for nine months, and this week he was ordered to serve 21 months behind bars and three years supervised release afterwards. The case will be appealed.
Lauren Handy, 30, was among those arrested along with Hinshaw in August 2023 of conspiring to block women's access to the abortion clinic. On Tuesday, Handy was sentenced to 57 months in prison, plus three years supervision.
