President Joe Biden weaponized the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act to target pro-life activists, Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) and Representative Chip Roy (R., Texas) said on Wednesday, which is why the pair introduced legislation to repeal the act.
“Free Americans should never live in fear of their government targeting them because of their beliefs. Yet, Biden’s Department of Justice has brazenly weaponized the FACE Act against normal, everyday Americans across the political spectrum, simply because they are pro-life,” Roy said. “Our Constitution separates power between the federal government and the states for a reason, and we ignore that safeguard at our own peril. The FACE Act is an unconstitutional federal takeover of state police powers; it must be repealed.”
The act “prohibits threats of force, obstruction and property damage intended to interfere with reproductive health care services.” The Department of Justice charged 26 pro-life individuals with FACE Act violations in 2022. No indictments have been made against individuals who have attacked pro-life clinics, even though at least 88 pro-life groups and 357 churches have been attacked since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked.
“It’s clear that the Biden Administration has used the FACE Act as a tool for aggressive pro-abortion partisans to take cases of alleged crimes, federalize them, and add the full weight of the government’s support for abortion to the ire against individuals,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life said. “SFLAction is calling for repeal of the FACE Act and fully supports Rep. Chip Roy’s FACE Act Repeal Act of 2023, as it is a long overdue course correction needed to reign in a weaponized Department of Justice.”
Most recently, eight pro-life activists were charged with felonies under the FACE Act for staging an abortion blockade at a Washington, D.C., clinic. Although the pro-lifers said they did not physically block anybody from entering the clinic, they face up to $350,000 in fines and a maximum prison sentence of eleven years. Two of the activists are 73 and 74 years of age.
“Our Constitution reserved general police power to the states. Congress infringed on the states’ police power when they passed the FACE Act,” Lee said. “The Biden DOJ has weaponized this constitutionally suspect law against pro-life sidewalk counselors while failing to protect pregnancy centers and churches from violent attacks. It’s time to repeal the FACE Act.”