LiveAction President and Founder Lila Rose this week shared and praised the address 69-year-old John Hinshaw gave to the court and judge that sentenced him to 21 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervision, for his pro-life activism.

Hinshaw is a co-defendant with Lauren Handy and seven others who were found guilty of violating the controversial Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. operated by late-term abortionist Cesare Santangelo.

On May 14, Lila Rose posted excerpts from Hinshaw’s address to the court.

Hinshaw shared that his granddaughter was born at 32 weeks gestation, which is likely around the same age of the “D.C. Five”–the five late-term aborted children whose bodies were discovered outside an abortion clinic by Handy in 2020.

Pro-life advocates have since called for an investigation into the cause of the infants’ deaths, especially out of concern that the children survived a late-term abortion attempt and were then left to die.

In his address, Hinshaw continued, “How is it that my granddaughter is a treasure, and the others are trash? There is a reason why today’s gospel reading is to lay down one’s life for his friends. This is not a coincidence.”

“I am sorry that I have failed in my vocation as a father to protect children. I am sorry to this court that it has failed in its vocation to protect its nation’s children,” he continued. “I am sorry to the bereaved mothers who have lost their children to abortion. We are a nation of bereaved mothers.”

“I am sorry to this generation that it has lost a third of its own to abortion. I am sorry that it’s lost its members to pornography,” he said:

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I stand convicted, though guiltless. I take on the guilt of this judge. Accept my love for you, judge, as expiation for your guilt.

Before the sentencing, Hinshaw gave a longer, similar statement, published by LifeSite News, that can be read here.

Hinshaw has already served nine months in prison, which will be included in the 21-month sentence.

On May 14, Handy was sentenced to 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervision. Hinshaw received his sentence shortly after. Another co-defendant, William Goodman, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervision.

This is not the first time Hinshaw has stood trial for his pro-life advocacy.

Hinshaw has previously taken part in a Red Rose Rescue, where pro-life advocates enter an abortion facility and give a red rose to the pregnant women in the waiting room who are scheduled to have an abortion. Along with the red rose, the pro-life advocates speak with the women and tell them about resources that can help them choose life.

Hinshaw received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from St. John’s University and has worked as a counselor at a mental health facility and another mental health clinic, according to the National Catholic Register.

In 2023, he was charged with criminal trespass and sentenced to 30 days in jail for participating in a Red Rose Rescue at an abortion facility in Long Island, New York.

During a February 2023 trial for this charge, Hinshaw explained how this background in counseling impacted his motivations at the facility.

“When asked by the police if I was going to leave, I asked them, ‘Are you going to do your job and protect innocent life?’ They said ‘No,’ so I said I’d stay to do their job — a job I was trained to do,” Hinshaw said, according to the Register.

LifeNews Note: McKenna Snow writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.