WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday pardoning 23 anti-abortion rights activists, a day before he addresses thousands of anti-abortion rights demonstrators at their annual march in Washington.
“Twenty-three people were prosecuted, they shouldn’t have been,” Trump said at the Oval Office signing ceremony Thursday, noting that “many of them” are elderly people. “It’s a great honor to sign. They will be very happy.
Some are in prison, White House Chief of Staff Will Scharf told Trump as he stood next to him. None of their names were immediately released. Conservatives have accused the Biden administration of using a 1994 law protecting abortion clinics, providers and patients to target peaceful protesters.
Congress passed the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act in response to an increase in violence against abortion providers and their patients, with the goal of allowing people to safely access these services . It also protects First Amendment religious rights. Property damage can be pursued under the law.
Several of those prosecuted under the law were involved in the 2021 blockade of a reproductive health care clinic in Washington, DC.
Clemency supporters say the Biden administration used the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act to unfairly prosecute anti-abortion rights protesters. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, reintroduced legislation this week to repeal the measure.
The annual March for Life along the National Mall will take place Friday, the third time the protest has taken place since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Trump is expected to address the crowd virtually, while Vice President JD Vance will speak in person.
Trump, on the campaign trail, wavered on his message on abortion as he searched for a political middle ground that would allow him to build his coalition and win the election. Sometimes he seemed worried about how to proceed.
But he promised at the 2023 Pray Vote Stand summit that if he won, he would appoint a task force “to expeditiously review the cases of every political prisoner who has been unjustly persecuted by the Biden administration” and that “never again the federal government will not be used.” to target religious believers.
Trump has signed dozens of executive actions since his inauguration Monday, including one pardoning more than 1,500 people involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
On his second day in office, Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, made a public appeal for clemency for the defendants, who he said had been “unjustly targeted and imprisoned by the Biden administration” for their beliefs. anti-abortion rights. , telling Trump on social media that “they deserve to be free.”
Laurent Hurley contributed.
