The Biden administration is using an old 1870 statute to increase penalties for peaceful abortion protesters. In just over three years, the Biden DOJ has already racked up over a quarter of all FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinics) Act charges in its 30-year history, and many of those come with the “1870” sentence enhancement.
These stats, coupled with the unprecedented sentencing, are fueling conservative criticisms that the Biden administration is unfairly targeting pro-lifers and weaponizing the DOJ for political gain.
Historically, threatening to harm or kill a clinic employee resulted in less severe punishments than what Biden’s DOJ is now imposing on elderly women peacefully protesting outside abortion clinics. Following the leak of the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision in 2022, there were hundreds of attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and churches. Yet, the DOJ has only prosecuted five individuals for these offenses.
From 1994 to 2024, there were 205 cases against pro-life activists and only six against abortion activists, according to data provided by Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy’s office. Pro-life individuals account for roughly 97% of all FACE Act cases.
Since Biden took office, his administration has prosecuted 55 cases. Only five of these cases involved attacks on pregnancy resource centers. In less than four years, Biden’s Department of Justice has been responsible for over a quarter of all FACE prosecutions.
The FACE Act, enacted in 1994, prohibits violent, threatening, damaging, and obstructive conduct intended to interfere with access to reproductive health services, including pro-life pregnancy resource centers and places of worship.
Critics argue that the Biden Administration is using FACE to target abortion protesters. In the past two years, FBI agents have raided the homes of pro-life activists Mark Houck and Paul Vaughn (Houck was acquitted, and Vaughn escaped prison time.
Vice President of the Center for Life and Regulatory Practice at the Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF), Erin Hawley, said that FACE “has been politicized and abused to target peaceful pro-life advocates.” In contrast, those who violently attack pro-life clinics walk free.
In 2022, at least 26 pro-life individuals were prosecuted, but no activists who obstructed or vandalized pregnancy care centers faced charges.
In 2023, Roy and Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee introduced legislation to repeal the FACE Act, accusing the Biden DOJ of weaponizing it against ordinary Americans simply because they are pro-life.
The FBI had previously stated it was investigating attacks on pregnancy resource centers and churches but did not disclose any arrests. According to CatholicVote, from May 2022 to March 2024, there were at least 90 attacks on pro-life organizations and pregnancy resource centers, many linked to pro-abortion groups Jane’s Revenge and Ruth Sent Us. Since May 2020, there have been over 400 attacks on Catholic churches.
In 2022, the Biden DOJ charged several defendants, including a 75-year-old woman, Paulette “Paula” Harlow, with severe punishments for allegedly obstructing an abortion clinic. Harlow was sentenced to 24 months in prison under the FACE Act and the 1870 Conspiracy Against Rights statute.
Historically, sentences for FACE violations were much lighter. During Clinton’s presidency, J. Fred Hart, Jr., who blocked access to an abortion clinic, received probation. Under Obama, Donald Hertz, who threatened an abortion doctor, also got probation.
The Biden administration’s use of the 1870 Conspiracy Against Rights law, originally meant to protect African American voters, to target peaceful pro-life activists exercising their First Amendment rights has drawn significant criticism. The DOJ’s Reproductive Rights Task Force, established after Roe was overturned, aims to protect access to reproductive health care, including enforcing FACE and protecting abortion-inducing medication.
In October 2022, the DOJ charged 11 defendants, including Paul Vaughn, with using force and obstruction at a Tennessee clinic. Vaughn, now a convicted felon, is under house arrest and probation.
Critics argue that the FACE Act has never been about neutrality—it’s always been about abortion. And now, with Biden’s administration dragging out a 150-year-old statute to enforce draconian sentences on peaceful protesters, it’s hard to argue otherwise. If this isn’t a case of the law being weaponized, then what is?
