The Biden administration is continuing its aggressive campaign to jail pro-life "rescuers." On Friday, three more pro-life activists, Joan Andrews Bell, 74; Jonathan Darnel, 40; and Jean Marshall, 72, were found guilty in federal court of blocking access to an abortion center in October of 2020. Five other pro-life activists involved in the same demonstration were also found guilty in August.
The Biden Justice Department brought the federal charges under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. That law prohibits "violent, threatening, damaging and obstructive conduct intended to injure, intimidate or interfere with the right to seek, obtain or provide reproductive health services." Of course, it is Orwellian to call the intentional killing of an unborn child a "reproductive health service."
Under the FACE Act, each violator faces up to 11 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release and up to $350,000 in fines. These horrendous penalties for trying to save lives are considerably higher than the sentences handed out in Washington, D.C., and other jurisdictions for violent crimes, including assault and robbery.
The abortion center where the demonstration took place is the Washington Surgi-Clinic, run by abortionist Dr. Cesare Santangelo. It has long been suspected of performing late-term abortions in which born-alive babies were left to die without treatment. In 2013, abortionist Santangelo was captured on an undercover video saying that if a baby was born alive, "We would do things — we would not help it."
The prosecution/persecution of the non-violent, pro-life demonstrations is adding to the growing sense that federal law enforcement under the Biden administration is being used as a "weapon" against disfavored groups. The FACE Act is supposed to "protect" both abortion centers as well as pro-life centers. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, seventy percent of abortion-related violence has been against pro-life centers and organizations, but the Justice Department has brought almost no prosecutions against pro-abortion extremists.
The conduct of the trial is also raising serious questions about its fairness. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, appointed by Bill Clinton, who presided in both cases, refused to allow the defendants from arguing that their actions were protected by the First Amendment's freedom of speech right.
Action Items:
• Pray for the incarcerated defendants and their families.
• Find ways to support pro-life centers and organizations as they do their vital, life-saving work while facing violence and threats.