As the March for Life Rally was held in Washington, DC. President Trump followed through with his campaign promise to pardon pro-life advocates who had been prosecuted by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Freedom of Access to Clinics (FACE) Act.
The FACE Act, enacted in 1994 by former President Bill Clinton, prohibits use of physical force, threat of physical force, or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate or otherwise interfere with “any class of persons [in] obtaining or providing reproductive health services.”
Those pardoned were convicted of FACE Act violations for non-violently demonstrating outside of abortion clinics.
"They should not have been prosecuted. Many of them are elderly people," he told reporters. "This is a great honor to sign this," President Trump said. "We released 23 people that were unjustly put in (jail) and having to do with pro-life. And, they will be released, and they'll be out very shortly. It was disgraceful what happened."
New York State Conservative Party Chairman, Gerard Kassar said, ““Promises made, promises kept is not just a slogan, but a reality with a strong leader like President Trump.”
“These individuals were unjustly prosecuted and imprisoned for non-violent charges that should have never seen the light of day. Their convictions under the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act represented an alarming escalation in the use of government power to target people of faith,” added Kassar.
Those convicted were serving prison terms of 6 months up to 5 years. The Biden Justice Department lawyers wanted to make the violations felonies so that maximum punishment was available. To reach felony status prosecutors charged some people with violating the KKK Act of 1871 - a law that was put in place to protect newly freed Black Americans.
The Thomas Moore Society’s senior counsel, Steve Crampton, pointed out that only after Roe v. Wade was overturned (with the Dobbs decision) did the Justice Department “begin rounding up pro-lifers, all around the country, for incidents that occurred years before Dobbs was even decided.”
No one supports violence or impeding anyone from proceeding on their way in any lawful activity, but there have long been criticisms that Democrat administrations, especially Biden’s Justice Department, used the FACE Act as a tool to intimidate and target Christians.
"No administration in history has targeted Christians like the Biden Admin. We saw one persecution after another, from shutting down churches during COVID-19 to raiding pro-lifer's homes at the crack of dawn. EVERY pro-life prisoner Biden wrongly imprisoned should be pardoned," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote in an X post.
Kassar added, “The Conservative Party has been calling for the release of the 23 pro-lifers who were simply exercising their constitutional right to free speech and religious expression. These cases are a clear demonstration of how federal laws have been misapplied and justice distorted. These 23 individuals are now free to go back to their lives, rejoice with family and friends, and can continue to stand up for the unborn without fear of a weaponized DOJ hunting them down.”
A Senate bill has been introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) that would dismantle the FACE Act. Conservative lawmakers have long argued that Democrats have weaponized it against pro-life groups and Christians.