Seven pro-lifers convicted of FACE Act violations in Michigan

A federal jury on Tuesday convicted seven pro-life activists of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, according to the Department of Justice. The FACE Act bans protesters from blocking the entrances to abortion facilities or crisis pregnancy centers. Prosecutors alleged that the protesters blocked the entrance to an abortion facility in Sterling Heights, Mich., in August 2020. The jury also convicted two of the seven activists of violating the FACE Act during an April 2021 protest in Saginaw, Mich.

Who are these seven defendants? The DOJ identified the defendants as:

• Calvin Zastrow

• Chester Gallagher

• Heather Idoni

• Caroline Davis

• Joel Curry

• Justin Phillips

• Eva Edl

• Eva Zastrow

What happened in Sterling Heights? During the Michigan Holiness Revival Tour, which the DOJ characterized as a camping tour, all seven of pro-life activists sat or stood in front of the entrances to the abortion facility so that employees and patients were not able to enter the building. One woman seeking an abortion was blocked from entering the facility at the time of the protests, the DOJ said.

What about the incident in Saginaw? Prosecutors alleged that Eva Edl and Heather Idoni blocked the entrances to another clinic. Edl sat in front of the front entrance to the clinic after placing a doorstop under the door so it couldn’t be opened from the inside. Idoni chained herself in front of another door with a bike lock, the DOJ said. The sentencing date for all seven defendants was not immediately scheduled. Idoni has already been convicted of violation the FACE Act in other protests in Washington, D.C. and in Mount Juliet, Tenn.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report in WORLD Magazine about Heather Idoni and other pro-life activists convicted of FACE Act violations and how they have served as ambassadors in chains for the pro-life cause.