The DOJ’s Prosecution of Pro-Life Activists, Explained

Written by Hudson Crozier

The numbers: This year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted at least 26 people who have protested at abortion clinics. It alleges that they violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a 1994 law that criminalizes “attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person” seeking “reproductive health services.”

What about pro-life facilities? There have been dozens of alleged attacks and threats directed at pro-life pregnancy centers since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v Jackson ruling, including arson. The DOJ has admitted that the FACE Act also protects these facilities and promised to investigate, yet no arrests have been reported of those who openly took credit for bombing pregnancy centers.

In contrast: Around 25 FBI agents raided a pro-life activist’s home in September with guns drawn, arresting him in front of his family. He was charged under the FACE Act for allegedly shoving a man outside an abortion clinic who screamed profanities at his 12-year-old son.

Big picture: While the DOJ claims to enforce the law equally, its priorities are skewed in favor of the abortion movement. It strongly denounced the Dobbs ruling as “a devastating blow to reproductive freedom” and created a “Reproductive Rights Task Force” in response. Over six times as many Americans have been charged under the FACE Act this year compared to last year, and all are pro-lifers.