WALKER WILDMON: Stop Criminalizing Pro-Life Americans

The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, originally enacted in 1994 under the Clinton administration, was sold to the public as a fair mechanism to prevent violence and obstruction at abortion clinics. Since that time, and probably by design, it has become a tool for selective prosecution and ideological intimidation. In particular, the Biden administration wielded the FACE Act like a political weapon — targeting peaceful pro-life advocates while turning a blind eye to the firebombing of crisis pregnancy centers and the desecration of churches.

It’s time for Congress to repeal the FACE Act. Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy’s “FACE Act Repeal Act” (H.R. 589), passed out of committee last summer, would do just that. The full House should bring it to the floor — and every member who claims to stand for equal protection under the law should vote yes.

Let’s be clear: violence, threats and vandalism are already illegal under existing state and federal statutes. No special carve-out is needed to protect abortion clinics — or, for that matter, churches or pregnancy centers. What the FACE Act does is create a two-tiered system of justice in which the federal government steps in only when the accused is a pro-life American. That became the norm under the Biden administration.

Consider the widely publicized case of Mark Houck, a father of seven and sidewalk counselor, arrested in a pre-dawn FBI raid for allegedly violating the FACE Act. The facts of his case — an altercation stemming from his defense of his son against a Planned Parenthood escort — did not merit federal involvement, let alone armed agents at his home. Houck was acquitted by a jury, but the ordeal cost his family dearly, and not just financially.

Meanwhile, nearly 90 attacks on pro-life clinics and pregnancy centers following the Dobbs leak have gone largely unprosecuted. Even under the Trump administration, the DOJ has brought only a handful of charges — and only after months of public outcry. The double standard is obvious and inexcusable.

To borrow from a recent article by Kelsey Pritchard, “Pro-lifers are tired of being treated like a cheap date. We are the GOP’s margin of victory.” It’s time for our Republican majority in Congress to recognize that by repealing the FACE Act.