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FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Texas Rep. Chip Roy is pushing to repeal a law that has resulted in the imprisonment of pro-life protesters, arguing the legislation could be used to unfairly target Americans in the future.
In a Tuesday letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., Roy called for a floor vote on his bill, the FACE Act Repeal Act, which the House Judiciary Committee has already advanced.
“I respectfully urge House leadership to act without delay by bringing [my bill] to the House floor for a full vote, ensuring every Member has the opportunity to consider repeal and help guard against future misuse of federal law,” Roy writes in his letter.
The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act is a 1994 law prohibiting making it more difficult for women to enter an abortion clinic.
The law was passed with bipartisan support, as it also prohibits preventing people from observing their religion at places of worship.
However, historically, the DOJ has more often targeted pro-life protesters than those disrupting religious services under the law, with President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) implementing it more aggressively than any prior administration.
Shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump pardoned 23 pro-life activists prosecuted under the law, including an 89-year-old woman and a Franciscan friar.
Roy identifies a new DOJ report “detailing the misuse” of the law to “target peaceful pro-life Americans” as a reason to seek its repeal.
“The report outlines a disturbing pattern of selective targeting, troubling coordination between federal prosecutors and radical abortion advocacy organizations, and potential violations of basic due process protections,” Roy writes.
Roy, who has served in Congress since 2016, ran for Texas Attorney General, but lost his bid for the Republican nomination to Mayes Middleton in the runoff primary in May.
The House Freedom Caucus member chairs the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government.
Roy is also the House author of the SAVE America Act, legislation which would require photo identification and proof of citizenship in federal elections.
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