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On Thursday, former President Donald Trump exercised his presidential authority by pardoning 23 pro-life activists who had been prosecuted by the Biden Administration for peacefully protesting outside abortion clinics. The pardon arrives one day before the annual March For Life event, where current Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to deliver a speech.
During Joe Biden’s tenure as president, his Department of Justice (DOJ) frequently invoked the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act to prosecute pro-life advocates, many of whom were elderly individuals handed multi-year prison sentences. “Twenty-Three people were prosecuted. They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump declared while signing the pardon. “Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.”
In addition to prison terms, numerous activists faced substantial fines amounting to tens of thousands of dollars under Biden’s presidency. One activist was charged with “felony conspiracy against rights” and was arrested at gunpoint in front of his children after the FBI raided his home.
Watch @POTUS sign pardons for 23 prolifers. Some have been in prison for over a year, many elderly. Thank you, @realDonaldTrump. pic.twitter.com/YQYIhpNM5F
— Dr. Abby Johnson (@AbbyJohnson) January 23, 2025
Conversely, Biden’s DOJ allowed many violent and destructive attacks on churches and pro-life pregnancy centers to go unprosecuted.
Biden was a fervent supporter of abortion rights during his presidency. He characterized the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling as a “tragic error” and attempted to implement federal abortion protections despite the ruling. The former president also praised abortion advocates, awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, to former Planned Parenthood director Cecile Richards for what he described as her “courage” and fearlessness in leading America towards being “a nation of freedom” while overseeing at least 3.8 million abortions.
BREAKING: Just 24 hours before the March For Life in D.C. President Donald Trump officially pardons 23 pro-lifers that were persecuted and incarcerated for the Biden Administration. PRAISE GOD!!! Thank you president Trump!
LIFE IS WINNING AGAIN pic.twitter.com/U0zRBXihsn
— Catholics for Catholics 🇺🇲 (@CforCatholics) January 23, 2025
“President Trump’s pardon today of pro-life activists unjustly imprisoned under President Biden is a great credit to his legacy,” said Tommy Valentine, director of CatholicVote’s Catholic Accountability Project, in a statement. “We hope he will go a step further in undoing Biden’s unjust legacy by directing his Department of Justice to evenly enforce the FACE Act, for as long as it is on the books, against violent pro-abortion extremists who have been attacking pregnancy resource centers and churches for years.”