By CHRISTINE FERNANDO

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Kristan Hawkins, president of the national anti-abortion group Students for Life, tours college campuses, she has grown accustomed to counterprotests from abortion rights activists.

But more recently, fellow abortion opponents, who call themselves abortion abolitionists, are showing up to her booths with signs, often screaming “baby killer” at her while she speaks with students. Hawkins has had to send alerts to donors asking them to help pay for increased security.

“I’m pretty sure they protest me more than they protest Planned Parenthood,” Hawkins said. “Believe it or not, I now know the price of a bomb dog.”

Hawkins’ encounters, which she related during an interview with The Associated Press, are just one example of what many people involved in the abortion debate have described as the widening influence of a movement that seeks to outlaw all abortions and enforce the ban with criminal prosecution of any women who have abortions. It began gaining momentum after the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling overturning Roe v Wade and has accelerated since Republicans won full political control in Washington in last year’s elections.

The movement’s impact also is beginning to show up in statehouses around the country.

Mainstream anti-abortion groups have largely shied away from legislation that would punish women for having abortions, but abortion abolitionists believe abortion should be considered homicide and punished with the full force of the law. In many states, they have been advocating for legislation to do just that.

A split within the anti-abortion movement

Mainstream anti-abortion groups have tried to play down any divisions and instead, at various rallies this spring, have emphasized their unity behind other goals, such as defunding Planned Parenthood.

Experts say the abortion abolitionist movement, once considered fringe, is growing and getting louder, empowered by recent victories for abortion opponents.

“With the reversal of Roe v. Wade, now states can pass the most severe abortion bans, which has galvanized the anti-abortion movement as a whole, including this part of it,” said Rachel Rebouche, dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia. “Certainly the fall of Roe has brought abortion abolitionists one step closer to what they want – banning abortion nationwide.”

In February, Hawkins posted on X, saying “the people I fear getting shot by, most of the time,” are not abortion rights activists but abortion abolitionists.

Then came the replies: “Demon,” “Ungodly,” “An accessory to murder,” “Enemy of God.” Her post opened a fire hose of online barbs from abortion abolitionists. Some called for her to resign and asserted that women should not have roles outside the home, let alone leading national anti-abortion groups.

Some conservative podcasts and online figures have hosted abortion abolitionists or echoed similar disdain for the larger anti-abortion movement. Ben Zeisloft, a podcaster for TheoBros, a network of Christian nationalist influencers, blamed feminism for abortion and said, “We need Christian men leading the fight against abortion.”

The comments reflect a broader uptick in misogynistic rhetoric and align with the religious doctrines motivating many in the abortion abolitionist movement, said Laura Hermer, a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota.

She said members of the movement have been emboldened by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which had granted a constitutional right to abortion for half a century, and recent actions by Republican President Donald Trump.

More state bills seek to criminalize women who get abortions

Those actions include pausing some family planning grants pending investigations, pardoning anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinics and signing an executive order that uses fetal personhood language similar to verbiage in state laws declaring that a fetus should have the same legal rights as a person. The laws are supported by both abortion abolitionists and mainstream anti-abortion groups.

Trump’s rhetoric on abortion has been mixed. In 2016, he backtracked after saying there should be “some form of punishment” for women who have abortions. He has recently pledged to protect in vitro fertilization, a fertility treatment that has been threatened by fetal personhood laws.

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Still, several experts said many state lawmakers have taken Trump’s return to the White House as a green light to pursue more aggressive anti-abortion policies.

So far this year, bills introduced in at least 12 states – Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas – would allow prosecutors to charge those who have abortions with homicide. In some of those states, women could be subject to the death penalty if the bills were to become law.

Most of those states already ban abortions in most cases, but the restrictions have typically penalized providers, rather than those seeking the procedure.

This past week, Alabama lawmakers filed legislation that would consider abortion as murder. In Georgia last month, protesters massed at the Capitol to oppose legislation that would classify abortions from the point of fertilization as homicide. The bill had nearly two dozen Republican co-sponsors.

Nearly 8 in 10 Americans opposed laws making it a crime for women who get abortions that would result in either fines or prison time, according to a KFF poll conducted in September 2022, a few months after the Roe ruling.

Dana Sussman, senior vice president at Pregnancy Justice, which tracks this type of legislation, said she is seeing more of those bills than ever before. Sussman said it was a “remarkable increase” and a sign that the rhetoric of abortion abolitionists is having an impact. In 2022, when one such bill passed a Louisiana state House subcommittee, it sparked national outcry, she said. That’s no longer the case.

“Now, because they are normalizing this idea, what was shocking then is no longer shocking,” Sussman said.

Republican State Sen. Dusty Deevers poses for a photo Wednesday, April 9, 2025, inside the State Capitol in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)

‘This is how change happens’

Dusty Deevers, a Republican state senator who co-sponsored the bill in Oklahoma, said he ran his campaign on a platform of abolishing abortion. He said he feels a sense of duty to his constituents and his Christian faith to pursue this type of legislation.

The bill died in Oklahoma after some local anti-abortion organizations spoke out against it. Deevers, who also has advocated against contraception, expressed frustration with mainstream anti-abortion groups.

“Politics and compromise have corrupted their mission,” he said, adding that he was encouraged that his bill received a hearing. “This is how change happens. When we’re dealing with controversial issues, change may not happen quickly … It’s not the result we wanted, but it is progress.”

The North Dakota Legislature voted down a similar bill after a staff member from the national anti-abortion group SBA Pro-Life America testified against it and read from a 2022 letter signed by more than 70 national and state anti-abortion groups that urged state lawmakers not to pass bills criminalizing women for abortions.

“We’re all trying to get to the same goal,” said North Dakota Rep. Matt Ruby. “I think there are some abolitionists who’ve forgotten that and, in their anger, are trying to tear other organizations down. But that does nothing for the movement.”

Hawkins, from Students for Life, said there are three camps within the anti-abortion movement: one that seeks to prosecute abortion patients, one that would never want to prosecute patients and one somewhere in between. The in-between group opposes prosecution now but acknowledges that this might change as “culture and laws shift.”

Hawkins said she is in the third category, while maintaining that abortion abolitionists today are not representative of the broader anti-abortion movement.

“If you want more pro-abortion Democrats to win future elections, then keep talking about putting women in jail, by all means,” Hawkins said.

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) — A person was arrested near UnitedHealthcare’s headquarters in Minnesota after reports of an intruder, months after the company’s CEO was killed, authorities said Monday.

Police in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka said the suspect was arrested outside of the United Healthcare corporate campus.

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The Minnetonka Police Department confirmed the arrest after initially tweeting just before 11:30 a.m. that there was a large police presence at the health insurance company. News helicopter video showed over a dozen law enforcement vehicles from multiple agencies at the scene, as well as an ambulance that was standing by. There were no reports of injuries.

The department later posted that a suspect was placed into custody without incident.

“There is no threat to the public,” the department said. “We are continuing to clear the scene at this time.”

Police did not immediately release further details on the incident.

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot to death in New York City on Dec. 4 as he was walking to an investor conference in midtown Manhattan. The man accused of killing him, Luigi Mangione, 26, pleaded not guilty in December to state murder and terror charges.

The CEO’s killing and ensuing manhunt leading to Mangione’s arrest rattled the business community, with some health insurers hastily switching to remote work or online shareholder meetings. It also galvanized health insurance critics — some of whom rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.

Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.

Mangione also faces federal charges, and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this month she has directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

An assistant principal at Oak-Land Middle School in Lake Elmo was taken to the hospital on Friday afternoon after he was assaulted while trying to break up a fight between students during eighth-grade recess, officials said.

Assistant Principal Christopher Dunn, 44, was treated at a local hospital and released, officials said.

“An altercation took place between two students and then one of the students assaulted a staff member,” according to the report issued by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. “I handcuffed the student and then investigated the incident.”

The incident, which caused a 25-minute modified lockdown at the school, remains under investigation, police said. It was reported around 12:10 p.m. Friday.

In a letter to families, Principal Ann Giardino wrote that “a physical altercation took place between two students, requiring an immediate response from our administrative team and our School Resource Officer to safely de-escalate the situation.”

The school was placed in a “hold” for 25 minutes “to ensure the safety of all students and staff,” Giardino wrote. During a hold, students remain in their classrooms and instruction continues without interruption, according to Giardino.

A hold might be used if there is a medical emergency in the building or when school officials need to limit traffic in the hallways, according to the district’s website. Students remain in their classrooms with doors locked, but classes continue as normal.

“Please know that the safety and well-being of everyone in our school community is always our top priority,” Giardino wrote.

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By JOHN SEEWER

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro angrily called for an end to rising political violence just hours after a man broke into the governor’s mansion and set it on fire, forcing Shapiro and his family to flee into the night.

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It was the latest in a string of partisan political attacks in the United States.

“This kind of violence is becoming far too common in our society. And I don’t give a damn if it’s coming from one particular side or the other,” Shapiro said. “It has to stop.”

While police have not said what might have motivated the attack early Sunday, court documents say the suspect admitted he hated Shapiro and was plotting to beat him with a hammer.

“The attacker basically wasn’t a fan of anybody,” President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday. “And certainly, a thing like that cannot be allowed to happen.”

This image provided by Commonwealth Media Services shows damage after a fire at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside on Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (Commonwealth Media Services via AP)

Here’s a look at other outbursts of political violence around the country in recent years:

Elon Musk’s Tesla properties set ablaze

In recent months, Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company has become a target since President Donald Trump put Musk in charge of slashing government spending. Cybertrucks have been torched, and bullets and Molotov cocktails have been aimed at Tesla showrooms.

FILE – Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Trump assassination attempts

At a Pennsylvania campaign rally in July, Trump was grazed on the ear by one of a hail of bullets fired by a gunman, fatally shooting one Trump supporter and badly wounding two others, before police killed him. Then in September, a man with a rifle apparently plotted to kill Trump but was discovered in some shrubbery near the presidents’ golf course in Florida and arrested by Secret Service agents.

New Mexico Republican headquarters torched

In March, a fire damaged the entryway to the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters and was being being investigated as arson. Incendiary materials were found on the scene and spray paint on the side of the building read “ICE=KKK,” an apparent reference to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has ramped up deportation efforts against people living in the country illegally.

Democratic National Committee office shot up

A volley of BB pellets and gunshots were fired at the glass front door and a window of a Democratic National Committee office in Arizona on three separate occasions last fall. Authorities said a man later arrested had more than 120 guns and over 250,000 rounds of ammunition in his home.

FILE – Gypsy Taub, David DePape’s ex-girlfriend, speaks with reporters outside the Phillip Burton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse where DePape’s federal trial is underway in San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, file)

Nancy Pelosi’s husband attacked at home

Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was bludgeoned with a hammer by a man who broke into their San Francisco home in 2022. The man later admitted during trial testimony that he planned to hold the speaker hostage and that his plan was to end what he viewed as government corruption.

Candidate for Louisville mayor targeted

Current Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, a Democrat, was the target of a shooting attempt at his campaign headquarters on Feb. 14, 2022 but was uninjured, although a bullet grazed the sweater he was wearing. The man who shot him was later convicted and sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison.

FILE – Supporters of then President Donald Trump climb the west wall of the the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Capitol stormed on Jan. 6, 2021

Extremist groups carried out an unprecedented assault on the nation’s democracy by storming the U.S. Capitol to protest the 2020 presidential election results and Trump’s defeat. After winning back the White House, Trump issued a sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the Capitol riot.

FILE – Men carry rifles near the steps of the State Capitol building in Lansing, Mich., on April 15, 2020 during a protest over Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s orders to keep people at home and businesses locked during the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor

Anti-government extremists were arrested in 2020 in what authorities said was a plot to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home and start a civil war. Two men portrayed as the leaders were convicted of conspiracy two years later.

FILE – An FBI Evidence Response team inspects the contents of one of the many bags left at the scene of a shooting in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, June 14, 2017, involving House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La., and others, during a congressional baseball practice. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, file)

Shooting at Republican baseball practice

An attacker opened fire with a rifle on Republican lawmakers practicing for a charity baseball game in 2017 in northern Virginia, critically wounding U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Authorities said the shooter, who was killed by police, was fueled by rage against Trump and GOP legislators.