A New York crisis pregnancy organization has sued two pro-choice activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, sending a message to the Biden administration over its lopsided record on abortion-related prosecutions.
The lawsuit accuses two women from Buffalo, New York — Hannah E. Kamke and Jennifer L. Page — of separately violating the FACE Act while targeting CompassCare, a pro-life pregnancy service with offices in Albany, Rochester, and the Buffalo suburb of Amherst.
Ms. Kamke pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct last month in Erie County for vandalizing a sign in front of CompassCare’s Amherst center, while Ms. Page has organized protests that impeded access to the facility’s parking lot, deterring staff and patients from entering, according to the complaint.
CompassCare CEO James Harden said Monday he decided to take legal action out of frustration with the lack of a federal response to the protests and vandalism, which include the June 2022 firebombing that forced the center to close for nearly three months and did $550,000 in damage.
“It is ridiculous that as pro-life citizens we are forced to do the job of both the FBI and DOJ,” Mr. Harden said in a statement to The Washington Times. “The FBI refused to investigate so we hired private investigators. The DOJ refuses to indict, so we brought FACE charges.”
The Washington Times has reached out to the Justice Department, Ms. Page, and an attorney who previously represented Ms. Kamke for comment.
The Justice Department has charged more than 30 pro-life activists under the FACE Act since the Supreme Court’s opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked in May 2022. Eight activists face up to 11 years in prison after being found guilty recently of blocking an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C.
The FACT Act prohibits violent or threatening conduct “intended to injure, intimidate, or interfere with the right to seek, obtain or provide reproductive health services, including abortion clinics and pro-life pregnancy centers,” but pro-life groups suspect the Biden administration of playing favorites.
So far only four pro-choice activists have been charged with FACE Act violations despite 88 attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and 200 attacks on Catholic churches since May 2022, as shown on the CatholicVote tracker.
“Despite the numerous attacks against pro-life groups, there have been appallingly few prosecutions of the attackers,” said the complaint filed Oct. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages as well as an injunction barring the defendants from coming within 100 feet of a pro-life pregnancy center in New York state.
Representing CompassCare is the Rochester law firm Ganguly Brothers as well as the Thomas More Society.
Ms. Kamke agreed to pay $2,580 and stay away from CompassCare last month as part of her plea deal, which saw the initial Class “E” felony count knocked down to a violation, the equivalent of a citation.
The lawsuit said that Ms. Page, a self-described “abortion enthusiast,” organized a May 2021 counter-protest in reaction to CompassCare’s “Walk for Life” that saw pro-choice demonstrators block a road; hit a police officer with a bullhorn; write “lewd, threatening messages” on the sidewalk and otherwise intimidate patients and staffers.
Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican, and Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, have introduced legislation to repeal the FACE Act, saying the Biden administration has “weaponized” the 1994 federal law.
“Joe Biden’s DOJ has weaponized this constitutionally dubious law against pro-life sidewalk counselors while failing to protect pregnancy centers and churches from arson, vandalism, and violence,” said Mr. Lee in a Sept. 19 statement. “It’s time to repeal the FACE Act once and for all.”
Mr. Harden said the “FACE Act is unconstitutional on its face,” but that it should be enforced equally while it remains the law of the land.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has insisted that the department is applying the law evenly, but told the Senate Judiciary Committee in March that vandals targeting pro-life centers were tougher to catch because they operate in secret at night.
The FACE Act “grants the right to a private cause of action against violators, so that victims can seek civil remedies against individuals,” the lawsuit said.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.