When President Joe Biden justified siccing his Department of Justice on peaceful pro-lifers under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, congressional Republicans, including members of the House Judiciary Committee, were quick to condemn the arrests as political and the Act as unconstitutional.
When it comes to eradicating the law that the Democrat regime used to jail fathers, mothers, grandmothers, and even a concentration camp survivor who prayed, sang, and peacefully protested ending life in the womb, however, some of the same Republicans are more hesitant to speak up.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, introduced the FACE Act Repeal Act on Jan. 21. The bill, which sought to eradicate the law used to target pro-lifers, was immediately referred to the House Judiciary Committee for review and potential markup. That same week, President Donald Trump pardoned nearly two dozen pro-lifers who were targeted by the radical abortion administration that preceded him.
There is widespread consensus in the pro-life movement that Trump’s pardons, while monumental, do little to discourage future Democrat administrations from abusing their power to imprison the people committed to protecting life beginning at conception. Roy even acknowledged when he introduced the bill that pardons alone would not stop the persecution of pro-lifers.
“We in Congress need to do our part to eliminate the laws used for the weaponization, including the FACE Act,” he said.
Several notable pro-life organizations asked House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, in February to prioritize reversing the FACE Act. In mid-March, many of those same organizations narrowed down their call to action to the Judiciary Committee “to prevent any future pro-abortion administrations from weaponizing the FACE Act against pro-life Americans, Congress must repeal the FACE Act in its entirety.”
Yet, the FACE Act Repeal Act hasn’t moved inside or outside of the Committee.
Republicans control the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the White House, so it shouldn’t be difficult for the historically pro-life party to pass legislation eradicating a law that, 97 percent of the time, was used to justify singling out protestors of ending life in the womb.
Additionally, every GOP member of the House Judiciary Committee claims to be pro-life in some form or fashion, putting them in an optimal position to pass along pro-life legislation with the support of pro-life voters and activists.
As Roy announced in early March, however, there appears to be internal opposition to advancing the bill.
“If my Republican colleagues continue to refuse to bring the FACE Act up for a vote in committee or the floor, I will file a discharge petition, and I will start to try to move the bill, irrespective of the normal procedures,” Roy said at a FACE Act forum at The Heritage Foundation. “I’m not going to sit back and wait while people hide and refuse to bring something forward because, ‘oh, no, this might be a little bit more controversial than just moving another continuing resolution.’ It is time that we change.”
A Mixed Bag
Roy did not name the Repeal Act holdouts. Of the 25 GOP House Judiciary Committee members asked by The Federalist about their support for the legislation to dismantle the FACE Act, however, only a handful responded. Even fewer committed to supporting the bill.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan’s spokesman Russell Dye told The Federalist that the committee is “weighing all options when it comes to the FACE Act,” but did not directly say whether the Ohioan would work to advance the Repeal Act or vote for it.
Jordan, who claims on his official website that his pro-life “conviction informs all that I do in Congress,” often condemns the Biden regime’s weaponization of the federal government against Americans. Just last month, Jordan, on behalf of the Judiciary Committee, subpoenaed the FBI for documents detailing the Biden administration’s weaponization of the federal government against Democrats’ political opponents including a pro-lifer.
Several of the FACE Act Repeal Act co-sponsors who sit on the House Judiciary Committee reaffirmed their endorsements of the legislation.
A spokeswoman for Rep Mark Harris, R-N.C., told The Federalist that the representative’s background as “a pastor who has sidewalk counseled” influenced him to be “fully in favor of repealing the FACE Act.”
Harris also expressed support for Roy’s plan to circumvent the committee to put the legislation up for a vote on the House floor if the committee doesn’t act. In an emailed statement to The Federalist, the North Carolina Republican confirmed that “Congress must repeal this law immediately to ensure future administrations do not target pro-life Americans ever again.”
“The last administration brazenly weaponized the FACE Act against pro-life Americans – even going as far as putting a grandmother in jail. But pro-lifers should never fear going to prison simply for praying outside an abortion clinic,” Harris wrote.
Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., another cosponsor, told The Federalist that “when the opportunity arises, I will vote to advance this important legislation.”
“The Biden Administration weaponized the FACE Act to target pro-life Americans while turning a blind eye to radical pro-abortion activists attacking crisis pregnancy centers and churches,” he said. “This double standard is unacceptable, and that’s why I support repealing the FACE Act. That’s also why I proudly cosponsored the FACE Act Repeal Act.”
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, similarly said he’s a “proud” cosponsor the FACE Act Repeal Act and hopes to “end this ridiculous double standard and stop the Democrats’ political persecution.”
“I urge its swift passage,” Gill told The Federalist.
The office of Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., yet another FACE Act Repeal Act cosponsor, noted his public calls for the House to “immediately” pass the repeal.
Many of the co-sponsors’ eagerness to get rid of what many have deemed an “unconstitutional” law was not shared by the whole House Judiciary Committee. Fellow co-sponsors Reps. Harriet Hageman and Barry Moore did not answer The Federalist’s questions.
A spokesman for Rep. Robert Onder, R-Mo., refused to answer questions about whether the Missouri Republican supports the Repeal Act. Instead, he claimed the congressman “is and always has been an ardent fighter for the pro-life movement” and pointed to the Republican’s role in introducing pro-life protections on the state and federal levels. A spokesman for Rep. Thomas Massie said the Kentucky Republican “does not have any availabilities this week” so could not comment.
Fifteen of the 25 Republicans who sit on the Judiciary Committee, including Reps. Tom McClintock, Darrell Issa, Thomas Tiffany, Scott Fitzerald, Lance Gooden, Jefferson Van Drew, Troy Nehls, Kevin Kiley, Laurel Lee, Wesley Hunt, Russell Fry, Glenn Grothman, Brad Knott, Derek Schmidt, and Michael Baumgartner did not immediately respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.
The Risks of Keeping the Status Quo
There is no reason why pro-life Republicans should let a law that is easily weaponized to punish their constituents who hold dissenting views about abortion continue to exist.
Criminal actions such as assault, threats of injury, disorderly conduct, and trespassing, which FACE Act proponents claim necessitate the law’s prolonged survival, are already barred by states and localities. It was solely because of the FACE Act, however, that the Biden regime successfully ignored most of the havoc wreaked on pregnancy centers and churches in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson ruling to zero 55 of its 60 FACE Act prosecutions in on Americans who prayed, sang, and evangelized at abortion facilities.
The threat of raid, arrest, and lawfare against unborn baby advocates is down significantly under the Trump administration, which is publicly committed to keeping pro-life patriots “out of the gulags.”
Unless Republicans ensure the FACE Act is eliminated in its entirety while they have the chance, the risk to peaceful pro-lifers beyond Trump’s four years is significantly elevated if not guaranteed.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.
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