Congress, activists revive push to repeal FACE Act

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, reintroduced legislation on Tuesday to remove the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, called the FACE Act. The federal statute is being used to target pro-life Americans, he argued in a news release from his office. Meanwhile, pro-life advocates have begun petitioning President Donald Trump to free protesters charged and prosecuted under the Clinton-era law. FACE Act defendants deserve the same pardons that the Trump administration gave Jan. 6 defendants, Roy said.

What’s in the law? The FACE Act makes it a federal offense to prohibit or obstruct access to what it calls reproductive services, which could be services provided by an abortion facility or a pro-life crisis pregnancy center. The statute bans the use of force, threats, or physical obstructions against someone seeking or providing reproductive health services. Reproductive health services can consist of treatments like pap smears and mammograms, according to the act. The act also identifies abortion as a reproductive health service.

The law also protects pro-life clinics and churches. Two dozen legislators co-sponsored Roy’s measure with Sen. Mike Lee planning to submit a companion bill to the Senate.

If the FACE Act protects churches too, why do legislators want to remove it? Department of Justice data showed that over 95% of cases prosecuted under the FACE Act within the last 30 years were brought against pro-life Americans, Roy’s office said. The Biden administration used the statute to weaponize the justice system, and leaders need to ensure that will never happen again, his office added.

Even before the inauguration, pro-lifers began petitioning Trump to pardon over a dozen activists prosecuted, convicted, or imprisoned under the FACE ACT. Many of the peaceful protesters are now in prison for standing up for life, said Thomas More Society Senior Counsel Steve Crampton.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report on Trump’s pardons to Jan. 6 defendants.