House Advances Bill to Repeal Law Weaponized Against Pro-Lifers

by Zachary Mettler | June 12, 2025 | Government Updates

The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill to repeal the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which the Biden administration used to jail pro-life supporters, in a 13-10 vote on Tuesday.

The two-page FACE Act Repeal Act of 2025, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, would repeal the 26 year old FACE Act, which former President Bill Clinton signed into law on May 26, 1994.

Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) used the law to prosecute peaceful pro-lifers protesting at abortion clinics, including Mark Houck, a father of seven; grandmother Heather Idoni; 75-year-old Paulette Harlow; and Paul Vaughn, a father of eleven arrested by an FBI SWAT team in an early morning raid on his home; and others.

On his fourth day in office, President Trump pardoned 23 pro-life supporters prosecuted under the FACE Act by the Biden regime.

“Many of them are elderly people,” the president said. “They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.”

The FACE Act criminalizes “intentionally injuring, intimidating, or interfering with” … “any person by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction” from obtaining or providing “reproductive health services” or exercising their First Amendment right to religious freedom at a place of worship.

Those convicted under the FACE Act face up to 10 years in prison and tens of thousands of dollars in fines.

Though the law purports to protect religious expression, abortion clinics, and pregnancy resource centers, according to Rep. Roy’s office, 97% of FACE Act prosecutions from 1994-2024 were against pro-life Americans.

Despite 400 violent attacks on pregnancy resource centers and churches since the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022, the DOJ brought 24 FACE Act cases against 55 defendants; only two of those cases involved attacks on pregnancy resource centers. None of them involved attacks on churches. Every other case was targeted at peaceful pro-life supporters.

After the committee vote, Rep. Roy said in a statement, “The FACE Act has been undeniably – and predictably – weaponized to target pro-life Americans while turning a blind eye to the destruction, vandalism, and even firebombing of pregnancy resource centers and churches.”

He added,

Our federal government has too many unnecessary laws that can be abused and weaponized against the people. No American should have the heavy hand of the federal government come down on them simply because they’re speaking out for – or against – life, regardless of who is in control of the executive branch.
While President Trump has rightfully pardoned FACE Act defendants unfairly prosecuted under President Biden, Congress must bring this bill to the floor and send it to the President’s desk, ensuring that no future administration can weaponize this law against pro-lifers ever again.

On the same day the Supreme Court overturned Roe, the DOJ essentially announced it would use the law to target pro-life supporters.

Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement that the DOJ “strongly disagree[d]” with the Court’s decision, deeming it a “devastating blow to reproductive freedom.”

“The Justice Department will work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedom,” he added, specifically citing the FACE Act as a tool the department would use to “protect healthcare providers and individuals seeking reproductive health services.”

The DOJ’s use of the FACE Act to go after pro-life supporters over the last few years should still shock and frighten Americans. The politicization and weaponization of laws must never become common practice.

Only a complete repeal of the FACE Act would prohibit future presidential administrations from selectively targeting pro-life Americans for political prosecution.

The Thomas More Society, a non-profit legal advocacy group that defended several pro-life supporters who were targeted under the FACE Act by the Biden administration, including Mark Houck, celebrated the advancement of the FACE Act Repeal Act.

Andrew Barth, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Thomas More Society, said,

The Biden-Harris Administration … prosecuted and convicted moms, dads, grandparents, priests, and other nonviolent pro-lifers for peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights in advocating against the injustice of abortion.

“Now, with the repeal bill heading to the House floor, we have the chance once and for all to end this weaponization and fully secure justice for pro-lifers across the country,” Barth added.

Should the House of Representatives approve the bill, it will need garner support from 60 senators before heading to the president’s desk.

Related articles and resources:

President Trump Pardons 23 Peaceful Pro-Life Protesters

Trump Urged to Pardon 21 Pro-Life Activists Convicted Under Biden

Pam Bondi Pledges to End ‘Partisan Weaponization’ of Department of Justice

House Subcommittee Examines Weaponization of FACE Act Against Pro-Life Supporters

Pro-Life Grandmother Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Abortion Clinic Protest

Alleged Criminal Abortionist Goes Free While Pro-Life Activists Sentenced to Prison

Photo from Getty Images.