The Justice Department has directed prosecutors to limit enforcement of the FACE Act, a law often used against pro-life protesters.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has directed federal prosecutors to scale back enforcement of a federal law protecting access to abortion clinics while criticizing the use of these protections by the DOJ under the Biden administration to target pro-life protesters.
The directive, outlined in a DOJ memo issued on Jan. 24, instructs prosecutors to enforce a law called the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act only in “extraordinary circumstances” involving death, extreme bodily harm, or significant property damage.
Under the new policy, most FACE Act violations will be handled by state or local law enforcement, with federal involvement reserved for cases that present “significant aggravating factors.”
This marks a shift from the Biden administration’s approach, which DOJ officials under Attorney General Merrick Garland defended as necessary to protect abortion.
The FACE Act, enacted in 1994, prohibits violence, threats, or interference with individuals accessing or providing reproductive health services—including abortion—as well as damage to facilities offering such services. It also extends similar protections to people seeking to exercise their First Amendment rights or religious freedom at places of worship.
The policy change