February 12, 2024
Washington, D.C.
Conservatives stand united against the unjust and illegal, selective prosecution of conservatives under the unconstitutional Federal Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act). The 1994 federal criminal law, signed by President Clinton, has been consistently abused under the Biden Administration to intimidate, harass, and punish its political opponents.
The FACE Act must be repealed. We urge Congress to take swift and aggressive action against it. At a minimum, Congress should mark-up and pass Rep. Chip Roy’s H.R. 5577 and Sen. Mike Lee’s S. 3017 repealing the FACE Act.
An honest legal review of the FACE Act (18 U.S.C. § 248) shows it is constitutionally suspect. Congress claimed jurisdiction to enact it under the much-abused Commerce Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Yet it failed to address how even that approach would justify this granting of general police power that is traditionally reserved for the states. Given the topic of the legislation, prohibiting actions to block access to abortion clinics, if its constitutional underpinnings were suspect then, they have entirely crumbled now that the U.S. Supreme Court has admitted there is no constitutional right to abortion.
Worse yet, the Biden Administration is abusing this law to punish pro-life activists who are a major target of one of the Administration’s biggest donor base, abortion lobbyists. In September, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) got convictions against three peaceful pro-life activists who now face “a maximum of 11 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $350,000.” Two of the women charged are over seventy years of age.
The case of pro-life advocate Mark Houck, who also faced the wrath of the Biden DOJ under the FACE Act over a mundane 2021 encounter with a Planned Parenthood escort outside a Pennsylvania clinic, is another egregious example. The altercation would normally not garner any attention outside the local clinic. Instead, the Biden FBI showed up to arrest Houck at his home, terrifying his wife and children. He was later acquitted of the charges, but the damage to his family cannot be overstated.
In March of 2022, DOJ announced the indictments of nine defendants under the FACE Act for “obstructing patients and providers of a reproductive health services facility.” After their conviction, they, too, face more than a decade in prison. In 2022, the Department of Justice charged 26 pro-life individuals with FACE Act violations. On the other hand, zero indictments were brought against those who not only protested but vandalized numerous pro-life clinics. In 2023, the DOJ filed nearly thirty FACE Act charges.
The emphasis on targeting pro-life Americans is part of the Biden Administration’s plan of action after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta delivered remarks at DOJ’s Civil Rights Division’s 65th Anniversary in December 2022, where she said:
[T]he Supreme Court dealt a devastating blow to women throughout the country, taking away the constitutional right to abortion and increasing the urgency of our work, including enforcement of the FACE Act, to ensure continued lawful access to reproductive services.
DOJ was unmoved as more than 100 pro-life clinics, organizations, and churches were attacked following the famous Dobbs leak. Their twisted schemes of targeting pro-life conservatives continued in 2023, where another 26 charges have been brought. DOJ has never used the FACE Act to prosecute anyone blocking access to a church or house of worship.
Americans have witnessed constant protests at the homes of U.S. Supreme Court Justices with no arrests, violent Black Lives Matter protests with millions of dollars in damages encouraged by the Biden Administration, anti-Israel protests shutting down entire highways, blocking access to emergency health services, defended under the First Amendment. But somehow, peaceful pro-life advocates are beyond First Amendment protection. This is an outrageous violation of the most fundamental principles of freedom and liberty.
The selective application of First Amendment rights must end now. The FACE Act must be repealed.
| The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell Chairman, Conservative Action Project Chairman, CNP Action, Inc. |
Penny Y. Nance President & CEO Concerned Women for America |
| The Honorable Tony Perkins President Family Research Council |
Star Parker President & CEO Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) |
| Marty Dannenfelser Vice President for Government Relations and Coalitions Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE) |
Rebecca Weber CEO Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) |
| Bob Carlstrom President AMAC Action |
Jenny Beth Martin |
| The Honorable Paul S. Teller, Ph.D. Executive Director Advancing American Freedom |
L. Brent Bozell III Founder and President Media Research Center |
| Thomas E. McClusky Principal Greenlight Strategies, LLC |
Alfred S. Regnery President Republic Book Publishers |
| Chad Connelly Founder and President Faith Wins |
The Honorable Edwin Meese III Attorney General President Ronald Reagan (1985-1988) |
| Myron Ebell Chairman American Lands Council |
Thomas H. Jones Founder American Accountability Foundation |
| The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop White House Advisor President Ronald Reagan (1981-1985) |
Wesley Denton Chief Operating Officer Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI) |
| The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs President Ronald Reagan |
Cleta Mitchell, Esq. Senior Legal Fellow Conservative Partnership Institute |
| The Honorable Jim DeMint Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute Member, US Senate (SC 2005-2013) |
Ed Corrigan Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project President & CEO, Conservative Partnership Institute |
| David N. Bossie President Citizens United |
The Honorable Bob McEwen U.S. House of Representatives Former Member, Ohio |
| William L. Walton The Bill Walton Show Resolute Protector Foundation |
The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell President The Leadership Institute |
| Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin (Ret.) Executive Vice President Family Research Council |
The Honorable Penny Pullen President Life Advocacy Resource Project |
| The Honorable Gary L. Bauer President American Values |
James C. Dobson, Ph.D. Founder and Chairman James Dobson Family Institute |
| Walker Wildmon CEO AFA Action |
Craig Shirley Reagan Biographer Presidential Historian |
| Kristen A. Ullman President Eagle Forum |
Gary Marx President The Concord Fund |
| Tim Throckmorton President Lifepointe Ministries |
Mike Davis President & Founder Article III Project |
| Judson Phillips Founder Tea Party Nation |
The Honorable George K. Rasley Jr. Managing Editor ConservativeHQ.com |
| Seton Motley President Less Government |
Tom DeWeese President American Policy Center |
| Ashley Baker Director of Public Policy Committee for Justice |
Joan Holt Lindsey President Lindsey Communications |
| Ron Pearson Executive Director Conservative Victory Fund |
E.C. Sykes General Partner Aslan Ventures |
| Donna Rice Hughes CEO DRH Enterprises |
E.W. Jackson Founder & President STAND Foundation, Inc. |
| The Honorable James C. Miller III Budget Director for President Reagan (1985-1989) |
The Honorable Richard D. Hayes State Representative State of Texas |
| Ralph Benko Co-founder and Chairman The Capitalist League |
The Honorable Peter J. Thomas Chairman The Conservative Caucus |
| Kielle Lindsey President The Lindsey Foundation |
Joseph A. Morris Partner, Morris & De La Rosa Former Assistant U.S. Attorney General, Reagan / Meese |
| Paavo Ensio Chairman Universal Minerals Group |
Rick Rounsavelle Trustee MRC |
| C. Preston Noell III President Tradition, Family, Property, Inc. |
Kevin Freeman Founder NSIC Institute |
| Ralph Rebandt Pastor/President Michigan Lighthouse Ministries |
The Honorable Mike Hill Former Member Florida State House |
| Tim LeFever Chairman Capitol Resource Institute |
Shannon O. Royce President Christian Employers Alliance |
| Steven H. Aden General Counsel Americans United for Life |
Jack Park Conservative Activist and Donor |
| Allen Hebert Chairman American-Chinese Fellowship of Houston |
All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only.
