House Republican lawmakers discussed repealing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act on Wednesday after hearing testimony alleging the law has been weaponized against pro-life protesters. The FACE Act, which has been federal law for 30 years, imposes harsher prison sentences for people who obstruct access to abortion clinics or pro-life pregnancy resource centers. However, under President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ), the law has almost exclusively been used to convict pro-life demonstrators.
Remarking upon the disproportionate use of the FACE Act against pro-life activists while those who harassed pregnancy resource centers largely avoided the same charges, Representative Chip Roy (TX-21) introduced legislation to repeal the Act in 2023. The bill, however, failed to make it out of the Judiciary Committee. If a repeal effort were to pass the House, it would need to overcome the filibuster in the Senate by garnering support from seven Democrats in the upcoming session. The effort has not gotten support from any Democratic lawmakers.
“Unequal application of the law is not truly law,” Roy said. “It is tyranny imposed on those who didn’t have the power by those who do have it. That’s contrary to everything we believe as Americans.”
Further details can be found here on the Catholic News Agency website.