Trump pardons pro-life protesters arrested under FACE Act

President Donald Trump issued another round of pardons on Thursday for 23 pro-life demonstrators prosecuted by the Biden administration. Many of these people are elderly and should never have been prosecuted, Trump said. The protesters were charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, commonly known as the FACE Act. The Clinton-era statute makes it a federal offense to block or hinder access to what the law considers reproductive services, which includes abortion procedures. The measure also provides the same protections to pro-life clinics and churches.

Were executive pardons really necessary for peaceful protesters? These peaceful advocates suffered FBI raids and federal prosecution just for supporting life, Thomas Moore Society Executive Vice President Peter Breen said in a statement. The group’s senior counsel, Steve Crampton, added that some protesters lost their rights after being convicted as felons. The legal nonprofit continues to call on lawmakers to repeal the FACE Act and protect pro-life advocates from future persecution.

Dig deeper: Read my report on a bill to repeal the FACE Act introduced to the House of Representatives earlier this week.