2024 Marks 30th Anniversary of Federal Law Now Being Used to Jail Pro-Life Advocates

Thomas More Society Brings FACE Act Expertise to National March for Life

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As the national March for Life takes place in Washington, DC, January 17-19, 2024, Thomas More Society attorneys are bringing their legal expertise on the FACE Act to life advocates from across the nation. The year 2024 marks 30 years since the FACE Act, or Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, was enacted and signed by President Bill Clinton in reaction to national attention focused on a wave of pro-life protests and sit-ins at abortion venues.

Thomas More Society attorneys successfully achieved the acquittal of pro-life dad Mark Houck in January 2023 [United States v. Houck, CRIMINAL ACTION 22-323 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 11, 2023)]. Houck was arrested in September 2022 on false FACE Act violation charges in front of his young children by heavily armed FBI agents in a dawn raid on the family's Pennsylvania home. Thomas More Society is currently representing Vaughn in federal court on charges of violating the FACE Act. [United States v. Gallagher, 3:22-cr-00327 (M.D. Tenn. Jul. 3, 2023)].

In August 2023, using the FACE Act, the Biden Department of Justice jailed pro-life activist Lauren Handy, who is represented by Thomas More Society. [United States v. Handy, Criminal Action 22-096 (CKK) (D.D.C. Aug. 1, 2023)].

Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation, explained how, in his opinion, the Biden Administration is unconstitutionally using the law to target the free speech of pro-life individuals?punishing them for their peaceful protest of abortion vendors.

"The FACE Act really is intended to stop civil actions where pro-life advocates peaceably sit in front of the door of an abortion facility," Breen shared. "These peaceful sit-ins draw their genesis from the American Civil Rights movement. The FACE Act turned that into a federal crime, which is a great shame as there are local laws to deal with trespassing."

"The problem is that the Biden Administration has charged these peaceful protestors with a ten-year felony 'conspiracy against rights' and treated them worse than major drug dealers," Breen stated. "In an act of major overreach, the Biden Department of Justice has also labeled this as a crime of violence, heaping on the unjust persecution of these brave civilians who have exercised their right to speak out against abortion."

Lawyers from Thomas More Society will comprise a legal panel at the prestigious Law of Life Summit, presented on January 18, 2024, at the March for Life Expo. Details on the expo, running January 17 to 19, 2024, are available at https://marchforlife.org/expo.

Thomas More Society attorneys will be available for interviews at the March for Life. Call or text requests 312.402.1333.

About Thomas More Society
Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and freedom. Headquartered in Chicago and with offices across the country, Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information, please visit thomasmoresociety.org.

Media Contact

Thomas Ciesielka, Thomas More Society, 3124221333, [email protected], https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/

SOURCE Thomas More Society