The topic of pro-life free speech has re-entered the Western world. First, it was the recent pardoning of 23 political pro-life prisoners. This month, Vice President JD Vance made waves for criticizing the UK’s “buffer zone” laws for Europeans, and sure enough, a few days later, an elderly woman was arrested for writing “coercion is a crime” on a sign. The pro-life movement has called for the repeal of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. This federal law has almost exclusively targeted pro-lifers and largely ignored vandalism against Pregnancy Help Centers (PHC), churches, and nonprofits.  

If any organization knows the downsides of anti-pro-life speech laws and the history of America’s weaponized FACE Act, it’s Heartbeat International.  

In 1971, Heartbeat International was formed in the early stages of the pro-life movement to unify and advance quality Pregnancy Help Centers (PHCs) for life-saving work.   

Pregnancy Help Centers existed even before the almost 50 horrible years of Roe v. Wade. One of the most pro-abortion states, California, was the establishment of the first official PHC in the United States. Within three years, 70 PHCs existed. Called out of a need to network and share information on this new kind of service, Heartbeat International was founded. Today, Heartbeat International has nearly 3,700 affiliates worldwide. 

During this early period, pregnancy resource centers saved millions of lives and continue to do so today. Between 2016 and 2020, the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) reported that pro-life pregnancy centers saved over 800,000 preborn children.  

Heartbeat International counts an estimated 2,900 PHCs in the entire country. Sadly, as the organization has grown in the last several years, so have the attacks against and vandalizations of PHCs across the country.   

As Heartbeat International President Jor-El Godsey explains, the Clinton-era FACE Act was indeed a political targeting of pro-lifers and not a protector of “reproductive health centers,” including PHCs, as some may claim.   

“There was a big protest movement in the late 80s and early 90s called Operation Rescue,” said Godsey. “Essentially, in a nonviolent and peaceful way, they blocked entrances to abortion vendors. The abortion lobby of the Clinton-era sought a way to bring down the power of the federal government on these peaceful protests.”   

Unfortunately, it worked. After former President Bill Clinton signed the FACE Act in 1994, the rescue movement of that day was effectively shut down, discouraging pro-lifers from peaceful prayer and protests. While pro-lifers still pray and protest peacefully outside of abortion vendors, the number has since dwindled.   

Some may argue that the FACE Act isn’t so bad despite its original intent, as it also protects PHCs. However, it only does so in a small and disproportionate way. According to Congressman Rep. Roy of Texas. “Since 1994, the FACE Act has been used 128x against pro-life Americans but only 4x against pro-abortion activists.” (emphasis added)  

Under the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ), the pro-life persecution worsened. During Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing for the United States Attorney General, Sen. Hawley brought forth the Biden Administration’s “disgraceful chapter,” citing more than 100 PHCs and 300 churches attacked by violent abortion zealots, vandalized and firebombed with the DOJ only acting in two cases.  

Having been arrested himself for peaceful prayer and protest, Godsey expanded even further into the law’s weaponization by bringing the federal government into states’ issues and twisting the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act to prosecute pro-lifers, an act meant to prosecute violent mob and mafia members.   

READ: The FACE Act Farce: Pro-Abortion Aggressor Gets Convicted by a STATE, One More Reason to Repeal the FACE Act 

“Abortion-supporting politicians wielded the FACE Act as a weapon to blunt the very concept of protesting outside of an abortion vendor. Furthermore, it brought the federal government into a state issue,” Godsey explained. “For example, if someone protests a local pharmacy, you call the local authorities, not the federal government. If you want to protest a local pharmacy, you don’t bring in the federal government. This all changed under the Clinton administration. The people who prosecuted these localized pro-life protests leveraged RICO, the law designed to go after the mob or the mafia.”  

History proves that the FACE Act is purposefully tilted against pro-life activists, which worsened under Biden’s DOJ. However, the pro-life movement won’t be fully satisfied with the DOJ under new leadership, though it is an outstanding improvement. We seek for Congress to abolish the FACE Act before another left-leaning, altogether pro-abortion administration can weaponize it. It is beyond saving and, as mentioned, is unnecessary since states can deal with vandalism locally.   

Momentum on the federal level is already in motion, as twelve Members of Congress are calling for funds to be prohibited that go to the FACE Act along with the full repeal of the law.  

“The idea that we reformat the FACE Act and apply it accurately and that an administration wouldn’t weaponize it, is wishful thinking,” Godsey said. “There are too many bad actors for such a powerful law.”  

However, bad actors won’t go away with the FACE Act, so Godsey argues for state laws to be applied to violent vandalisms, a primary concern for Heartbeat International and other PHCs nationwide.   

Godsey also addresses cyber-attacks, an underreported issue for PHCs, saying, “ There’s a cyber element that wasn’t addressed in the FACE Act. Many groups, like Jane’s Revenge, will organize and write bad reviews, and websites incorrectly label PHCs as fake clinics.”  

ExposingFakeClinics, ReproAction, and the University of Georgia have all falsely labeled PHCs as fake clinics when the reality is far from it. More than 70% of the pregnancy centers in the U.S. provide medical services, and all clinics are doing so with licensed Medical Directors and staff, including registered nurses (RN) and sonographers.   

PHCs affiliated with Heartbeat International all sign on to the Commitment of Care and Confidence, a valiant and effective effort to hold PHCs to a high standard of ethics and care.   

If only the abortion industry would dedicate itself to the same standards. The abortion industry shouldn’t be shielded from what it’s doing to women. There should be a National Reporting Law, and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) should act on behalf of women, not the abortion industry, as they’ve been doing by eliminating safeguards and REMS. 

Godsey and Heartbeat International have been on the front lines of protecting and informing women. While the fight must go on whether the FACE Act is demolished, the case for it is strong for anyone who cares about freedom. We’d rather not end up like Scotland, so it’s time to repeal it before it’s too late.  

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