To Congressional leadership,
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act allows the U.S. government to prosecute anyone who blocks access to facilities that provide reproductive health services.1 Since this law defines "reproductive health services" as including services related to "the termination of a pregnancy,"2 this protection applies to not only hospitals, doctor's offices, and pro-life pregnancy resource centers but also abortion facilities.
However, the enforcement of this law has been overwhelmingly one-sided. According to data acquired from the U.S. Department of Justice by the office of Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), there have been over 200 FACE Act prosecutions against pro-life individuals since the law's enactment in 1994. Several of them were elderly grandmothers who were peacefully praying at the time of their arrests.
In contrast, there have only been six prosecutions against pro-abortion individuals, despite the numerous cases of violence against pro-life pregnancy resource centers since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade (Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 2022). This means approximately 97 percent of FACE Act prosecutions have been against pro-life Americans.3
Furthermore, at least 55 of the FACE Act prosecution cases were during the first three years of the Biden administration. In other words, three years of the Biden administration accounted for approximately one-quarter of all prosecutions in the FACE Act's 30-year history.4 The evidence indicates that the FACE Act has been enforced in a politically biased manner.
Catholic speaker Mark Houck often prayed outside of an abortion facility in Philadelphia. On one occasion, a Planned Parenthood employee began shouting profanities and vulgar comments at Mark and his 12-year-old son. When Mark asked the employee to back off from his son, the employee refused, and Mark shoved him. A year later, in 2022, Mark was arrested for allegedly violating the FACE Act during this incident. FBI agents raided his home and handcuffed him in front of his wife and children.5 It's no stretch to conclude that the Biden-era U.S. Department of Justice's prosecution of this minor incident was meant to intimidate Mark and other pro-life Americans.
On January 23, 2025, President Trump pardoned 23 peaceful pro-life protestors prosecuted under the Biden administration, fulfilling a pledge he had made as a presidential candidate in 2023 at FRC Action's Pray Vote Stand Summit. We are grateful for this action by President Trump and trust that his administration will not use the FACE Act improperly. However, there is always the possibility that this law could be misused by future administrations. Therefore, it is essential that Congress repeal the FACE Act so that pro-life Americans are not subjected to the same one-sided enforcement witnessed during the Biden years.
We call upon members of Congress to support Rep. Chip Roy's bill to repeal the FACE Act. Pro-life Americans deserve fair and equal treatment under the law, and their First Amendment right to pray outside abortion facilities should be protected. We ask Congress to take action against misuse of government power by repealing the FACE Act.
