On a remarkable day, January 23, 2025, former President Trump used his power to grant clemency to 23 individuals who held a staunchly pro-life stance. Several of these individuals had been met with substantial sentencing under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act following acts of civil disobedience at abortion centers.
The creation of the FACE Act took place back in 1994 and intended to provide protections for, ironically, both ends of the spectrum – churches conducting religious proceedings under the First Amendment right, and abortion clinics providing reproductive health services. By design, this law was meant to shield these two seemingly disparate entities equally.
Yet, an analysis of the Act’s execution since its birth throws a harsh light on a glaring disparity and bias. A striking 97% of prosecutions under the FACE Act have targeted individuals identifying as pro-life and engaged in counseling women visiting abortion centers. At the same time, a mere 3% of the prosecutions addressed attacks on churches and pro-life centers.
Appallingly, this astonishing skew in prosecutions took place despite the occurrence of 406 separate incidents of damage or violent behavior towards churches. This 97 to 3 percentage split eloquently narrates the story of an unfair weaponization by the Department of Justice/Federal Bureau of Investigation (DOJ/FBI) against churches and pro-life advocates.
This biased use of the FACE Act by administrations favoring pro-choice provides enough reason for the repealing of the Act. It’s puzzling how the Biden administration used the DOJ/FBI as a tool to further such skewed policies, as an analysis of the damages further indicates.
Curiously, among the 23 pro-life individuals who received pardons from Trump for their protests, none were found to have inflicted any damage on abortion clinics or properties. On the flip side, attackers of churches caused damages amounting to a jaw-dropping $26 million across 406 churches during Biden’s term – an average of over $62,000 per church.
Here’s a noteworthy observation – the pro-life protestors, who were pardoned, caused no financial damage. In a bewildering contrast, Biden commuted the death sentences of 37 male inmates, some of whom were clearly seen committing the act of murder of their victims on tape. It’s baffling how these individuals received sentence reductions while pro-life protestors faced charges under the FACE Act for acts like passively blocking access to abortion clinics.
Heather Idoni and Mark Houck provide vivid and heart-wrenching examples of such pro-life citizens. Idoni, a mother of five children, found herself jailed under the FACE Act. Undeservedly treated as a violent criminal, she found herself stuck in solitary confinement for an unreasonable 22 days and suffered sleep deprivation with lights kept on throughout. She even had to face a pre-trial hearing in full shackles.
The commendably brave Idoni was one of the fortunate 23 individuals who received pardons from Trump on that significant day, January 23. It’s hard to ignore the positive contrast between Trump’s actions and the choices made by the Biden administration in this context.
Speaking of contrast, with Trump’s ascent to office, he made an immediate halt on such weaponization of the DOJ and FBI against pro-life advocates. His attorney general nominee Pam Bondi, who was confirmed by the Senate, swiftly established the ‘Weaponization Working Group’ to critically examine and redress potential cases of prosecutorial abuse.
This working group is also responsible for investigating the FBI’s targeting of Catholic Americans, parents voicing their concerns during school board meetings along with addressing and rectifying biased enforcement of the FACE Act.
Even after stepping aside, Trump’s actions have tangible effects in furthering the pro-life movement, and proving comparatively impactful when looking at the actions taken under the Biden’s administration.
However, with Trump’s term nearing its end, there is once again an alarming risk of the Judiciary being used as a tool against pro-life advocates. To avoid the recurrence of such bias, the FACE Act should be discarded altogehter.
The power to affect such change falls into the hands of the U.S. Senate. They hold the key to halting the resurrection of an unfair weaponization against pro-life citizens.
Reflecting on the discriminatory enforcement of laws and regulations by the Biden administration, one can’t help but see the damaging impact on pro-life cause and religious freedom.
In the stark light of these revelations, it becomes clear that steps must be taken to correct this systemic injustice.