The husband of pro-life activist Joan Andrews Bell wrote about her and their marriage a year after she was incarcerated for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act while protesting late-term abortions.
Joan Andrews Bell, 76, this year was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, as CatholicVote previously reported. She was arrested in August 2023 after peacefully praying inside of an abortion clinic, according to the National Catholic Register.
In a September 5 article for Crisis Magazine, Christopher Bell quoted the ancient phrase “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” and wrote that the adage “has never been truer for me.” Christopher was unable to see his wife in person for nine months. He was only able to talk to her on the phone for up to 20 minutes at a time. Now, he is able to visit her on occasion, surrounded by guards.
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He wrote, “How easy it is to laugh with Joan, even in her bright yellow prison suit.”
According to Christopher, he and his wife knew that resisting abortion would involve sacrifice, even before their marriage, noting that Christ asks Christians to take up their crosses.
Christopher recounted that his wife told him in August, “What little sacrifice this is… They aren’t torturing us. We get to eat. We get medicines. In Germany, the [Nazis] would shoot you and your whole family if you were hiding a Jewish person.”
Christopher also explained that he first met Joan when she was in prison for pro-life work.
“I must have recalled the awe in seeing her with a smile, surrounded as we were in a room no bigger than a large living room with other prisoners and visitors and guards,” he wrote. “Her happy face wasn’t just for meeting a new friend; her spirit reflected her deeper desire to do what God wants.”
He wrote that Joan’s love for everyone, even those who are guilty, “shows me how much love God gives to those willing to give a little more.”
Joan’s imprisonment has garnered national attention, including from LiveAction President Lila Rose. In a speech at the National Eucharistic Congress, Rose praised Joan for her activism.
“Joan Bell’s peaceful resistance echoes the spirit of the martyrs,” Rose said. “I believe that this sister of ours is living a white martyrdom.”
Bell has seven children, six of whom are adopted and have special needs.
LifeNews Note: Grace Porto writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
