In May of last year, someone leaked the Supreme Court opinion of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which was ultimately used to overturn Roe v. Wade. Pro-abortion Democrats, including in the Biden administration, didn't bother hiding their true concerns about the overturning of Roe, as opposed to this unprecedented leak where the culprit has yet to be found. From the start, pro-abortion extremists acted out against pro-life individuals, organizations, and Catholic Churches, and at a much higher rate than pro-lifers did against abortion facilities. In the 18 months since the leak, however the Biden administration has also shown a one-sided aim on which said they aim to prioritize protecting.
On Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland gave prepared remarks for the convening of the Reproductive Rights Task Force. Again, this is a priority of the Biden administration, and President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as other cabinet members have participated in and given remarks for various task force meetings.
Much of his remarks contained discussion about the unrelated concern of allegations that former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Victor Manuel Rocha has been acting as a foreign agent for Cuba. When Garland did get to the topic at hand, however, his comments spoke to a one-sided priority.
"Over the past 18 months, the Justice Department has been working to defend the reproductive freedoms that are protected by federal law," Garland claimed. "As part of that work, we are continuing to vigilantly monitor state laws and enforcement actions that threaten to infringe on women’s reproductive rights."
Garland offered specific examples of state laws in Alabama, Idaho, and a case out of Texas involving a particularly notable case worth watching when it comes to the accessibility of abortion-inducing drug mifepristone. Garland noted that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is "seeking Supreme Court review to ensure that mifepristone remains available on the terms approved by the FDA."
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He also spoke about the DOJ's enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which has been perhaps the strongest indication of where the administration's priorities lie:
Finally, we continue to work to protect health care providers and people seeking reproductive health services.
We continue to enforce the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act — known as the FACE Act. That law prohibits anyone from obstructing access to reproductive health services — including abortion services, pharmacies that provide reproductive health care services, and pregnancy counseling services — through violence, threats of violence, or property damage.
We are working to ensure that prosecutors across the country are equipped to bring FACE Act cases. And we have emphasized that Civil Rights Division attorneys are always available for consultation and technical assistance.
All of this important work has been done and coordinated by the dedicated public servants on the Department’s Reproductive Rights Task Force. And it has been led by Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta.
The FACE Act, is supposed to protect both those seeking abortion services, as well as those seeking pro-life services, which the DOJ itself admits. "The FACE Act is not about abortions. The statute protects all patients, providers, and facilities that provide reproductive health services, including pro-life pregnancy counseling services and any other pregnancy support facility providing reproductive health care," a section on "Protecting Patients and Health Care Providers" reads in part.
Both Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray have gone before various congressional committees to discuss abortion. Such memorable exchanges included when Wray could not sufficiently answer a question from Sen. Mike Lee's (R-UT) in August of last year when he asked "how many domestic terrorism investigations does the FBI currently have open under the category of abortion-related violence extremism?" Wray was similarly slammed during his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in July of this year.
Sen. Mike Lee: "How many domestic terrorism investigations does the FBI currently have open under the category of abortion-related violence?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 4, 2022
Director Wray: "We have opened a number of domestic violent extremism investigations..." pic.twitter.com/kZ3KrXrUdo
When it comes to the FACE Act, the DOJ has had something of a mixed, but nevertheless high-profile record as it seeks to target pro-life activists. Last year, the DOJ slapped FACE Act charges on pro-life activist Mark Houck, despite how local prosecutors had dropped charges after he defended his son from a pro-abortion activist. Agents stormed the home of Houck, a husband and father of seven in the early morning hours, terrifying his children. In January, Houck was found not guilty of the charges. He's since announced a run for Congress and that he is filing a lawsuit against the FBI and DOJ.
There were convictions, however, when pro-life activists, including elderly women, were convicted of violating the FACE Act in September of this year. Mia highlighted the stunning bias that the defendants faced.
Instances abortion activists have been arrested and charged hasn't made much news, and when they have made news, it's because of inexplicable plea deal offers.
In June of last year, CompassCare Pregnancy Services locations near Buffalo, New York, were firebombed and subsequently vandalized. The center has filed a lawsuit against two "known pro-abortion activists." CEO Jim Harden is looking to do what the DOJ will not, bring FACE charges. "The FBI refused to investigate so we hired private investigators. The DOJ refuses to indict, so we brought FACE charges," he said.
More recently, in March of his year, Lee called Garland out for the administration's one-sided enforcement of the FACE Act.
There is no “they did it at night” exception to the FACE Act, apparently unless the it’s the Biden administration and the victim is a church or a pregnancy center. But if it’s an abortion clinic … move over! https://t.co/YT4oyOSkzy
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) March 3, 2023
Both Lee and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) have introduced legislation to repeal the FACE Act. As an October press release from Lee's office pointed out:
The FACE Act is a federal law designed to protect access to abortion facilities. While FACE also includes protections for churches, these are duplicative of other federal and state laws and have never been enforced.
Prior to this year, the FACE Act had never been used to indict individuals related to an attack on a pro-life pregnancy center. It has still never been used by the federal government to protect a house of worship.
Since the Dobbs decision was leaked in May of 2020, at least 357 Catholic Churches have been attacked. The Biden Administration has opened 0 FACE Act cases in response.
Meanwhile, pro-abortion members of Congress want the DOJ to go further. During a September hearing that the House Judiciary Committee held, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) expressed concern about hospitals with religious affilations being exempt from performing abortions.
The pro-abortion bias from the Biden administration is particularly noteworty given how one-sided the instances of violence were. In the months following the leak, a study released in October of last year by the Crime Research Prevention Center (CRPC) showed that pro-life organizations were 22 times more likely to be met with violence than pro-abortion ones.
The Family Research Council (FRC) also has compiled a list of "Attacks on Churches, Pro-Life Organizations, Property, and People Since the Dobbs Leak on May 2, 2022." As of May 19, there have been 172 incidents recorded.
