Abortion clinics are under siege.

In 1994, Congress passed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act to safeguard abortion providers and patients from violence, harassment, and physical obstruction when seeking care. For over two decades, this law has served as a critical backstop against anti-abortion extremists who attempt to intimidate patients and block access to care. [1]

Now, under President Donald Trump, those protections are being rapidly dismantled — putting clinics, providers, and patients in grave danger.

In January 2025, President Trump pardoned 23 anti-abortion extremists convicted of violating the FACE Act — including, in one example, individuals who violently forced their way into a D.C. abortion clinic.  [2] At that clinic, the people Trump pardoned did activities like the following: created a blockade using ropes and chains on the doors, forcing a patient to climb through a window to receive life-saving care, shoved a patient laying on the floor in pain while she waited to receive an abortion for her non-viable pregnancy, and injured a nurse. [3] These weren’t peaceful protests — they were orchestrated clinic invasions designed to terrorize. [4]

Shortly after issuing the pardons, Trump’s Department of Justice released guidance severely limiting the enforcement of the FACE Act. According to internal memos, the DOJ will only pursue FACE Act cases in “extraordinary circumstances,” effectively giving clinic harassers the green light to escalate their tactics without consequence. [5]

This isn’t just about a few bad actors. National anti-abortion organizations have made it their mission to bully, harass, and threaten abortion providers into shutting their doors. These leaders incite violence and obstruction at clinics and are now openly pushing to repeal the FACE Act entirely. The Heritage Foundation, an influential right-wing think tanks and key architect of Trump’s policy agenda, has explicitly called for a full repeal of the FACE Act, stripping away even the basic legal protections clinics still have left. [6]

Now, just days after a fertility clinic was bombed in California, Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) reintroduced legislation to repeal the FACE Act entirely. This is not a coincidence; it is part of a coordinated full-scale assault on reproductive health care. [7,8]

We know that when federal protections disappear, violence escalates. Post-Dobbs, we’re seeing increases in vandalism, doxxing, and stalking of abortion providers. Clinic staff are being followed home. Protesters scream at patients, record them without consent, and block their access. With the federal government turning its back, clinics are left vulnerable and alone. [9]

This is not normal. It is not safe. And it is not acceptable.

Add your name now to demand that Congress and the Department of Justice enforce and protect the FACE Act.

We cannot allow anti-abortion extremists to succeed in their campaign of fear. The safety and dignity of patients and providers depends on all of us speaking up now.

SIGN NOW: Defend the FACE Act. Protect abortion clinics.

Sources:

1. https://prochoice.org/wp-content/uploads/face_act.pdf
2. https://feminist.org/news/trumps-pardons-of-23-antiabortion-extremists-endanger-providers-and-patients/
3. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.241671/gov.uscourts.dcd.241671.543.0_1.pdf
4. https://reproaction.org/this-was-an-attack-not-a-peaceful-protest/
5. https://www.npr.org/2025/03/09/g-s1-52616/abortion-face-act-access-enforcement
6. https://www.heritage.org/life/report/congress-should-repeal-the-freedom-access-clinic-entrances-act
7. https://roy.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-roy-reintroduces-legislation-repeal-face-act
8. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/us/palm-springs-bombing-fertility-clinic-suspect.html
9. https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/harassment/