Christine Flowers recently wrote a piece imploring Trump to free “pro-life” protestors convicted under the
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. She makes a variety of spurious arguments, comparing protestors to lunch counter sit ins, she notes that some were arrested for chaining themselves to clinic furniture (an act of trespass), that she herself has protested and thankfully not yet been arrested. The reality is that none of these examples is germane to the cases in question.
FACE, or the Access Act, has three core components. It prohibits “(1) the use of physical force, threat of
physical force, or physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, interfere with or attempt to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person who is obtaining an abortion, (2) the use of physical force, threat of physical force, or physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, interfere with or attempt to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person who is exercising or trying to exercise their First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship, (3) the intentional damage or destruction of a reproductive health care facility or a place of worship.”
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Ms. Flowers has not been arrested or charged because she has not engaged in “the use of physical force,
threat of physical force, or physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, interfere with or attempt to injure, intimidate or interfere” against anyone seeking an abortion or attending a religious service. Nor has she engaged in destructive activity at a clinic or church. This doesn’t seem unreasonable.
Those who have been convicted have had access to due process. It is ironic to watch a lawyer advocate for ignoring the rule of law, simply because they do not care for what the law proscribes.
If one is pro-life they are free to act in accordance with their conscience. No one is being forced to get an
abortion against their conscience. When “pro-life” proponents seek to engage with those who do not share their views at abortion clinics, their goal is less one of preserving life, and more to intimidate and impose their religious morals onto others. Doing so is a form of religious persecution.
They seek to impose their religious moral conclusions on others, which violates the religious autonomy of said others. If they don’t like the law, they should work to change it. They shouldn’t bully individuals who don’t share their views.
Brian Barnett
Glendale, Mass.
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