The FACE Act was Enacted to Protect Reproductive Health Clinics − Here’s Why Its History Matters Today
Originally published in The Conversation on March 10, 2025.
Soon after taking office for a second time, President Donald Trump pardoned anti-abortion activists who had blockaded and restricted access to the entrance of a reproductive health clinic in Washington, D.C., in October 2020.
These protesters were convicted of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Protesting outside clinics is a way for conservative anti-abortion activists to directly influence access to reproductive health care.
The FACE Act prohibits the use of force or threat toward people trying to obtain or provide reproductive health services. It was created to limit the anti-abortion movement’s tactics outside clinics, requiring that protesters cannot physically stop patients from walking into clinics and receiving care.