Judge tells elderly pro-life activist concerned with dying in prison to 'make every effort to remain alive'

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A Washington D.C. district court judge suggested a 75-year-old pro-life activist "make every effort to stay alive" as part of the "tenets of your religion" while sentencing her to prison.

On May 31, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Paulette "Paula" Harlow to two years in federal prison and 36 months of supervised release for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act) with a pro-life demonstration at an abortion clinic in 2020.

Although Harlow’s husband, John, and attorney emphasized that her rapidly declining health could put her life in jeopardy in pleading for leniency, court transcripts obtained by Fox News Digital showed the judge giving Harlow a suggestion based on Harlow's religion.

"I would suggest that, in terms of your religion, that one of the tenets is that you should make the effort during this period of time, when it may be difficult in terms of for your husband, to make every effort to remain alive, to do the things that you need to do to survive, because that's part of the tenets of your religion," Kollar-Kotelly said.

PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST FACING UP TO 11 YEARS IN PRISON: PEACEFUL PROTEST 'MAKES YOU A FELON' IN BIDEN'S DOJ

The judge’s comments followed John Harlow making a plea for mercy as the primary caregiver of his wife.

"I feel like Paulette is dying," he said. "In my heart, I think she’s having a hard time