The Trump administration has directed federal prosecutors to limit enforcement of a federal law safeguarding abortion centers, reproductive health centers and pregnancy resource centers, calling the Biden administration’s previous use of longstanding protection “the prototypical example” of weaponization of the federal government.
A new Department Justice memo issued Friday and obtained by CBS News focuses on the Justice Department’s application of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances or “FACE” Act. The law — passed in 1994 — makes it illegal to harm, threaten or interfere with an individual “obtaining or providing reproductive health services” or damage a facility “because such facility provides reproductive health.”
The new directive, written by the chief of staff to the attorney general, Chad Mizelle, instructs prosecutors to enforce the law only in “extraordinary circumstances” or in instances when death, wherein extreme bodily harm or significant property damage result.
According to the Justice Department memo, future FACE Act violations will mostly be left to state or local law enforcement, with exceptions for federal investigations in cases “presenting significant aggravating factors.”
“Until further notice, no new abortion-related FACE Act actions — criminal or civil — will be permitted without authorization from the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division,” Mizelle wrote.
The policy change comes after years of criticism by President Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill, who have argued the FACE Act was disproportionately enforced against anti-abortion activists during the Biden administration.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Justice Department under former Attorney General Merrick Garland established a Reproductive Rights Task Force. According to a June 2024 press release, the Justice Department brought at least 25 cases against nearly 60 defendants for violations of the FACE Act during the Biden administration. Individuals were accused of targeting facilities ranging from Planned Parenthood facilities to pregnancy resource centers.
The cases included one in which a defendant admitted to firing BB guns at a California Planned Parenthood facility on 11 different occasions between 2020 and 2021. Another California man pleaded guilty to firebombing a Planned Parenthood building with a Molotov cocktail in 2022.
And in June, three Florida residents pleaded guilty to spraying threatening messages on multiple pregnancy resource centers.
Garland throughout his tenure at the Justice Department defended prosecutors’ enforcement of the law, but current Justice Department officials pushed back, alleging in Friday’s directive that there was “not the even-handed administration of Justice.”
“More than 100 crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life organizations, and churches were attacked in the immediate aftermath” of the Supreme Court’s decision, Mizelle wrote, arguing some of those cases went uncharged.
The memo was issued on the same day that abortion opponents gathered in Washington, D.C., for the annual March for Life. Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at the rally, and said of Mr. Trump’s administration, “No longer will our government throw pro-life protesters and activists, elderly grandparents or anybody else in prison.”
On Thursday, Mr. Trump pardoned 10 defendants who were charged with violating the FACE Act after prosecutors said they had formed a blockade at a Washington, D.C., reproductive healthcare center in 2020.
“They should not have been prosecuted,” the president said.
The act extends similar protections to places of worship and to individuals “exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.”
During her Senate confirmation hearing, Mr. Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, said “The FACE Act not only protects abortion clinics, but it also protects pregnancy centers, and people going for counseling. The law should be applied evenhandedly.”
The Trump administration’s Justice Department has recently announced new limitations on the enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a federal law that protects reproductive health facilities from interference and violence.
This decision comes as a blow to advocates for women’s health and safety, who argue that the FACE Act is crucial in ensuring that individuals seeking reproductive healthcare are able to do so without fear of harassment or intimidation.
The move has sparked criticism from lawmakers and activists, who worry that limiting enforcement of the FACE Act could embolden those who seek to obstruct access to reproductive healthcare services.
As the debate over reproductive rights continues to rage on, the Trump administration’s decision to scale back enforcement of the FACE Act is sure to be met with further scrutiny and opposition. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
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- Trump Justice Department
- FACE Act enforcement
- Reproductive health facilities
- Trump administration
- Reproductive rights
- Government regulations
- Healthcare facilities
- Legal restrictions
- Public safety
- Women’s health protection
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