Reports show Republican Representative Chip Roy of Texas presented legislation to overturn the DOJ’s use of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act to prosecute pro-life advocates.
Several pro-life advocates have recently been convicted under the 1994 FACE Act, which prohibits threats of property damage, obstruction, and force designed to disrupt reproduction health care treatments.
Roy’s prepared statement to media outlets explains that he proposed the legislation so that Americans would not have to live in fear that the government would punish them for their views.
Under Biden, the Department of Justice has openly used the FACE Act as a weapon against pro-life Americans from all walks of life and all political persuasions.
Rep. Roy said that our Constitution keeps the federal government and the states independent entities. The FACE Act’s government takeover of state law enforcement authorities is unlawful and must be reversed.
In 2022, when an abortion clinic worker accused a Catholic parent named Mark Houck of beating him, the DOJ raided his home and filed charges against him under the statute. Reports show Houck was charged, but in January 2023, the jury found him not guilty on all counts.
According to Houck’s wife, at least 15 agents barged into their house last October and pointed their rifles at the 48-year-old man, his wife, and their seven children. His kids reportedly begged the FBI not to take their dad into custody as they surrounded the residence early in the morning.
Houck, who entered a not-guilty plea in September, maintains that he pushed away Bruce Love, a volunteer at the abortion clinic, while protecting his 12-year-old son from his verbal abuse.
Volunteer escorts like Love are exempt from the FACE Act, according to legal representation for the pro-life organization 40 Days for Life, in which Mark Houck participates.
According to reports, in both instances leading to the accusations, Love came toward Houck down the street, away from the abortion clinic, not outside the clinic. In the second instance, legal representation claims that the fight wasn’t about abortion (necessary for a FACE violation) but rather Love’s abusive treatment and harassment of Houck’s 12-year-old son.
