Trump pardons a group of pro-life activists who prayed outside an abortion clinic
As he signed the pardons, the president asserted that they "should never have been prosecuted."

"They should never have been prosecuted," Trump said before signing/ Roberto Schmidt
Donald Trump gae a series of pardons to pro-life protesters. Surrounded by reporters in the Oval Office, the president signed pardons for 23 people who had been convicted in recent years of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE).
Among those pardoned were a group of Tennessee activists, who in 2021 gathered in a hall outside the Carafem Health Center. There they chanted, prayed and encouraged the women present not to have abortions.
"The pardons would also bring relief to those awaiting sentencing, including 89-year-old Eva Edl. Edl, who survived a World War II-era Yugoslavian concentration camp, was convicted in Detroit and could be sentenced to over a decade in prison over her conviction on FACE and a felony conspiracy charge," The Daily Wire reported.
Another of the beneficiaries is Lauren Handy, who was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for leading a blockade that took place with chains and padlocks in front of a Washington DC clinic. Handy's fellow defendants were also pardoned by President Trump: Jonathan Darnel, Jay Smith, John Hinshaw, William Goodman, Joan Bell, Paulette Harlow, Jean Marshall, Heather Idoni and Herb Geraghty.
According to the Justice Department, those involved used "physical obstruction to injure, intimidate and interfere with clinic employees and a patient because they were providing or obtaining reproductive health services."
House Republicans passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
"These children are not junk. They cannot be treated as so much garbage. This legislation tries to say we need to protect them once they were born after the abortion," Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) said.
Specifically, the protestors were found guilty of violating the FACE law, enacted in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. Senator Mike Lee recently introduced a bill to repeal this legislation.
Trump claimed the prosecutions were political and specifically mentioned Harlow during a June 2024 campaign event held during Faith & Freedom. "There are a lot of people in jail for this," he said in June, adding, "We’re going to get that taken care of immediately."
"This is absolutely fantastic news. Joe Biden weaponized the DOJ against these pro-life protestors for the heinous crime of praying outside abortion clinics. These bogus cases should have never been brought, and I am grateful that justice has prevailed," celebrated Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) after the pardons were made public.