WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee, expressed concern about the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, and its “uneven application.”
His comments came after the Department of Justice released a report April 14 alleging the Biden administration “weaponized” the federal law, which was crafted to protect access to both reproductive health facilities and houses of worship.
Thankful for DOJ investigation
Bishop Thomas, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, told OSV News he is “thankful for the DOJ’s investigation into enforcement of the FACE Act.”
In its 882-page report, the DOJ accuses the Biden administration of weaponizing the FACE Act by collaborating with groups that support legal abortion to target pro-life organizations and individuals, and that in some criminal cases there were disproportionate sentences for pro-life defendants and defendants who support abortion.
However, some of the communications and actions detailed in the report took place in 2020 and January 2021, the final months of Trump’s first term.
Clinton signed FACE Act into law
Then-President Bill Clinton signed the FACE Act into law in 1994. It seeks to protect reproductive health facilities by prohibiting actions such as obstructing the entrance. As a compromise, Congress also included protections for houses of worship in that law.
Noting the USCCB opposed the legislation when it was passed in 1994, Bishop Thomas argued the bishops did so because “there are other laws that can deter violence, and we expressed concern about uneven enforcement of the Act that could punish peaceful pro-life protesters and protect abortion businesses.”
Protecting abortion access after Dobbs
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022, which overturned its previous abortion precedent in Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration pursued prosecutions under the FACE Act as part of what it called its “whole-of-government” response to protect abortion access. However, abortion opponents said the Biden administration weaponized that law, arguing they did not pursue proportionate charges against those who vandalized pro-life facilities or churches.
“The DOJ’s investigation confirms that advocates for life weren’t provided with equal justice,” Bishop Thomas said. “Pro-life Catholics will continue to advocate for the most vulnerable in the womb and serve mothers with the love and support they deserve, especially through pregnancy help centers.”
Biden’s DOJ and pro-lifers
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News that the report showed under the Biden administration, the DOJ was “working very closely with outside organizations” to “go after individuals who were pro-life.”
The DOJ’s report comes as that department faces scrutiny from some pro-life leaders for recent filings asking courts to dismiss or pause state lawsuits to roll back the Biden administration‘s eased restrictions on mifepristone, a drug commonly used for first trimester abortion, but which is also used in some miscarriage care protocols.
Separately, former CNN anchor Don Lemon was charged with violating the FACE Act in the disruption of a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, as part of a protest of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in that area. Lemon has argued he was there as a journalist.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
