A 75-year-old grandmother, Paulette Harlow, faced a federal judge who openly ridiculed her faith in the courtroom during a sentencing hearing. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced her to two years in jail for participating in a prayer and hymn sing at a late-term abortion mill in Washington, D.C. Harlow, who had been under house arrest since November 2023 due to her deteriorating health, also received 36 months of supervised release. Despite her husband’s plea for mercy, expressing concern over her declining health and the possibility of her passing away in prison, the judge handed down the sentence.
“In my heart, I think she’s having a hard time staying alive,” John said, according to LiveAction. “We’ve tried to be good people,” he later added. “I love my wife dearly… We’re throwing ourselves on the mercy of the court.”
Judge Kollar-Kotelly disregarded his apprehensions and ridiculed Harlow’s belief in Christianity. The judge sarcastically remarked that she wished Harlow would “try to stay alive” as it is a fundamental principle of Harlow’s religious faith.
In November 2023, Paulette was found guilty of breaching the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and engaging in a “conspiracy against civil rights.” Senator Mike Lee denounced the insensitive comments made by the federal judge.
“This judged mocked Harlow’s religious beliefs while sentencing the 75-year-old woman in poor health to two years in prison — all for the offense of (gasp) praying at an abortion clinic,” Lee wrote on X. “Moloch is a vile monster.”
Paulette has been confined to her residence since November 2023 due to her medical requirements. In the government’s statement, prosecutor Rebecca Ross emphasized that the case did not revolve around the defendant’s beliefs, but rather focused on the “violent obstruction of reproductive healthcare” and the “violation of civil rights of others.”
Ross accused Harlow of trying to exploit her poor health as a means to avoid the consequences of her actions and of committing perjury during her trial, although the specifics of how Harlow allegedly did so were not clarified. The lawyer argued that Harlow lacked empathy and compassion towards women seeking to terminate their pregnancies on the day of the incident, and proposed a sentence ranging from 33 to 41 months.
