Trump pardons anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinic entrances

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blocking access to abortion clinics. Trump stated that "it is a great honor to sign these pardons."

Trump said while signing the pardons for "peaceful pro-life protestors," that "they shouldn’t have been prosecuted." The pardoned individuals were involved in the October 2020 invasion and blockade of a clinic in Washington. Lauren Handy, who led the blockade, was sentenced to nearly five years in prison, having instructed blockaders to chain themselves together to block access to the clinic doors.

Prosecutors stated that a nurse was pushed while entering the clinic, resulting in a sprained ankle, and a woman in labor was also harassed by another blockader. Police discovered five fetuses at Handy’s home after she was indicted. Trump pardoned Handy and her nine co-defendants, including Jonathan Darnel of Virginia, Jay Smith, John Hinshaw, and William Goodman of New York, Joan Bell of New Jersey, Paulette Harlow and Jean Marshall of Massachusetts, Heather Idoni of Michigan, and Herb Geraghty of Pennsylvania.

In the first week of Trump’s presidency, anti-abortion advocates stepped up calls for Trump to pardon protestors charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The act is designed to protect abortion clinics from obstruction and threats. The 1994 law was passed amid a rise in clinic protests and blockades, as well as violence against abortion providers, such as the 1993 murder of Dr. David Gunn.

Trump specifically mentioned Harlow in a June speech, criticizing former President Joe Biden's Justice Department for bringing charges against protestors involved in the blockade. "Many people went to jail for that," he said in June, "and we’re going to be taking care of that immediately." Abortion rights advocates slammed Trump’s pardons as proof of his opposition to abortion, despite his attempts to straddle the line between anti-abortion allies and the majority of Americans who support abortion rights, by making vague and contradictory statements during his campaign.

Ryan Stitzlein, vice president of political and government relations at the national abortion rights organization, Reproductive Freedom for All, said, “Donald Trump tried to play both sides during his campaign—bragging about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade while saying he wouldn’t take action on abortion.” He added, “We never believed it was true, and this shows us we were right.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, thanked Trump for “immediately delivering on his promise to pardon the protestors,” and argued that their prosecutions were politically motivated. The Thomas More Society, a legal group, argued in a January letter to Trump that the FACE Act defendants they represented were “unjustly imprisoned.” The group said in the letter that they had assured the defendants that Trump would review their cases and pardon them upon taking office.

Steve Crampton, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, said Thursday, “Today, freedom rings in our great nation.” He added, “What happened to them can never be erased, but today’s pardons are a giant step toward restoring justice.” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, one of Trump’s most ardent supporters, called the prosecutions of anti-abortion protestors “a gross violation of this country’s principles” and urged Trump to pardon them, while also reading the stories of the anti-abortion protestors on the Senate floor on Thursday.

He highlighted Eva Edl, who was involved in a 2021 blockade of a Tennessee clinic, whose story had gained attention from the largest anti-abortion groups in the US. Hawley said he had a "pleasant conversation" with Trump about the protestors Thursday morning. The pardons come ahead of Friday’s annual anti-abortion protest, the March for Life, in Washington, where the president is expected to address the crowd via video.