The Thomas More Society Catholic law firm is formally petitioning the incoming presidential administration to pardon 21 pro-life activists who are imprisoned for protests at abortion clinics under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. During Biden’s four years in office, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) brought charges against more than 30 people who took part in pro-life demonstrations under the FACE Act, which was legislation in the 1990s to increase penalties for people who obstruct access to abortion clinics or pregnancy resource centers.
Although the FACE Act’s higher sentences also apply to people who obstruct or damage pro-life pregnancy centers, Biden’s DOJ only brought charges in two cases regarding attacks on those facilities despite more than 100 incidents occurring under his tenure. Petitioners from the Thomas More Society expressed optimism regarding the potential pardons, as Trump had mentioned the disproportionate prosecution of pro-lifers while on the campaign trail.
“These peaceful pro-life Americans mistreated by Biden include grandparents, pastors, a Holocaust survivor, and a Catholic priest — all are selfless, sincere patriots,” the petition from the Chicago-based law firm reads. “While Biden’s prosecutors almost entirely ignored the firebombing and vandalism of hundreds of pro-life churches and pregnancy centers, they viciously pursued pro-life Americans.”
Further details of the Thomas More Society’s pardon request can be found here at the Catholic News Agency website.