The FACE Act Is on Thin Ice: Advocates Push for Repeal After Don Lemon Church Incident
22 out of 24 Biden-era FACE Act charges targeted pro-life advocates. Now conservatives want the whole law gone.
After Don Lemon Church Incident, Advocates Push to Repeal the FACE Act
When anti-ICE protesters stormed a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota in January — with former CNN reporter Don Lemon in tow — it reignited a debate that grassroots conservatives have been having for years: why does the FACE Act only seem to work in one direction?
What Is the FACE Act?
The Free Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act was passed by Congress in 1994. It imposes penalties on anyone who intimidates, injures, or interferes with access to reproductive health services — including abortion clinics. It also, on paper, protects houses of worship from the same treatment.
The key words there: "on paper."
The Numbers Tell the Story
Over the course of four years, the Biden administration charged 24 individuals with FACE Act violations. Twenty-two of them were pro-life advocates. Meanwhile, churches were vandalized and services disrupted with little to no federal response.
One particularly striking example: an 89-year-old woman could face up to 11 years in prison for sitting in the doorway of an abortion clinic.
The St. Paul Incident
On January 18, anti-ICE protesters disrupted a church service in St. Paul. Video showed Don Lemon working with the activists. The DOJ has since charged Lemon for his involvement — but the incident exposed a deeper problem with how the law is applied.
Voices Calling for Repeal
Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute: "These attorneys general have turned a blind eye against the law. They have taken off the blindfold of justice and decided to put their finger on the scale instead on behalf of their political friends."
Erin Hawley, Alliance Defending Freedom: "The historic pattern of using that statute to enforce it in a one-sided way I think is something that should give us all pause... I think the FACE Act is on thin ice."
Matthew Cavedon, Cato Institute: "I am skeptical just at a gut level that there is enough of a breakdown in law and order at the state level here that people are routinely disrupting religious services with total impunity from the states to justify this becoming a federal crime."
What's Next
Advocates are calling on Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the FACE Act entirely and replace it with more robust, equally-applied protections for individual rights. The concern from all sides: a law that can be weaponized depending on who's in the White House isn't really a law — it's a political tool.