LAKEVIEW — A Lakeview church was vandalized Wednesday afternoon by two women who appeared to be upset by its reproductive rights sign.
Second Unitarian Church of Chicago, 656 W. Barry Ave., put up the sign when Roe v. Wade was overturned in June, said the Rev. Jason Lydon, the church’s pastor. It read, “We support abortion on demand without apology.”
But two women who were passing by the church Wednesday afternoon appeared to be upset by the message and started throwing rocks at the building, breaking a stained glass window, Lydon said.
A neighbor caught the incident on video. It shows the women throwing rocks and using a piece of fencing from the church’s garden to smash the glass case with the abortion access sign.
“I sent a message,” one woman can be heard saying in the video. “You don’t f—ing put s— like that out there. Get the f— out of here.”
Police confirmed a report was filed about the incident, but they did not provide more information on what happened.
Lydon said he was “disappointed” after the attack, but it makes him “want to be even more vocal” in support of abortion access.
“I think it’s so important for religious communities to express support for abortion access at a time when some of the most vocal religious communities are celebrating the overturn of Roe v. Wade,” Lydon said. “We see the overturning as an affront to our religious beliefs and have a desire to make our position known so people can see it’s not all churches trying to take away the rights of people.”
The church will hold a standout in support of abortion rights at noon Sept. 4 to show its community won’t be afraid by the vandals’ statement, Lydon said.
“We want to express our continued solidarity with people to have autonomy over their bodies,” Lydon said. “I don’t want these individuals who attacked our church to think they got the last word, and I want to show we will not back down from our vision of a more just community.”
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