Trump Pardons 23 Anti-Abortion Activists Ahead of March for Life

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump on Thursday pardoned 23 anti-abortion activists convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, just ahead of the annual March for Life demonstration in Washington, D.C. The pardons, announced during a press briefing outside the White House, included activists who had been prosecuted for blocking access to reproductive health clinics during the Biden administration.

“We released 23 people that were unjustly put in and having to do with pro-life. And, they will be released, and they’ll be out very shortly. It was disgraceful what happened,” Trump told reporters before departing for disaster zone visits in Asheville, North Carolina, and Los Angeles.

Among those pardoned were Lauren Handy, Jonathan Darnel, and Heather Idoni, a Michigan bookstore owner who had been convicted multiple times for her involvement in clinic blockades. Idoni, 59, was among six activists convicted in August for obstructing a Sterling Heights, Michigan, clinic in 2020. The group livestreamed their protest, during which they prevented a woman with a high-risk pregnancy from entering the facility.

“These defendants intentionally broke the law. One woman’s fetus experienced fatal abnormalities, and the defendants’ coordinated campaign of physical obstruction posed a grave and real threat to her health and fertility,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke following the convictions.

The FACE Act, passed in 1994, makes it illegal to block access to reproductive health clinics. Critics argue the law has been weaponized against anti-abortion activists, while supporters say it protects patients and providers from harassment and violence.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is introducing legislation to repeal the FACE Act, citing concerns over its enforcement. “No administration in history has targeted Christians like the Biden Admin,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote on social media, applauding the pardons.

Planned Parenthood condemned the pardons, with Krista Noah, National Director of Affiliate Security and Response Planning, stating, “Donald Trump has disregarded the law and greenlit violence against abortion providers.”

The Thomas More Society, a Catholic public-interest law firm, had petitioned for the pardons, calling the activists “peaceful, non-violent Christians.” Peter Breen, the society’s Executive Vice President, praised Trump for “keeping his promise to these pro-life mothers, fathers, grandparents, pastors, and priests.”

However, court records and federal prosecutors have described some of the activists’ actions as far from peaceful. In a 2020 incident in Washington, D.C., activists used chains and locks to blockade a clinic, preventing a pregnant woman in labor from entering. A nurse sprained her ankle while trying to access the facility, and another patient had to climb through a window.

Trump’s pardons come amid heightened tensions over abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Vice President JD Vance is expected to address the March for Life rally on Friday, as the debate over reproductive rights continues to dominate the national conversation.