CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump announced Thursday he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances.
Trump called it 鈥渁 great honor to sign this.鈥�
"They should not have been prosecuted," he said as he signed pardons for "peaceful pro-life protesters.鈥�
The people pardoned were involved in the and blockade of a Washington clinic.
Lauren Handy was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for leading the blockade by directing blockaders to link themselves together with locks and chains to block the clinic鈥檚 doors. A nurse sprained her ankle when one person pushed her while entering the clinic, and a woman was accosted by another blockader while having labor pains, prosecutors said. Police found five fetuses in Handy鈥檚 home after she was indicted.
Trump pardoned Handy and her nine co-defendants: Jonathan Darnel of Virginia; Jay Smith, John Hinshaw and William Goodman, all of New York; Joan Bell of New Jersey; Paulette Harlow and Jean Marshall, both of Massachusetts; Heather Idoni of Michigan; and Herb Geraghty of Pennsylvania.
In the first week of Trump鈥檚 presidency, anti-abortion advocates have ramped up calls for Trump to pardon protesters charged with violating the , which is designed to protect abortion clinics from obstruction and threats. The 1994 law was passed during a time where clinic protests and blockades were on the rise, as was , such as the murder of in 1993.
Trump specifically mentioned Harlow in a criticizing former President Joe Biden鈥檚 Department of Justice for pursuing charges against protesters involved in blockades.
鈥淢any people are in jail over this,鈥� he said in June, adding, 鈥漌e鈥檙e going to get that taken care of immediately.鈥�
Abortion rights advocates slammed Trump鈥檚 pardons as evidence of his opposition to abortion access, despite his on the issue as he attempted to on the campaign trail between anti-abortion allies and the who support abortion rights.
鈥淒onald Trump on the campaign trail tried to have it both ways 鈥� bragging about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade while saying he wasn鈥檛 going to take action on abortion,鈥� said Ryan Stitzlein, vice president of political and government relations for the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All. 鈥淲e never believed that that was true, and this shows us that we were right.鈥�
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser thanked Trump for 鈥渋mmediately delivering on his promise鈥� to pardon the protesters, arguing their prosecutions were political.
The legal group Thomas More Society argued the FACE Act defendants they represent had been 鈥渦njustly imprisoned鈥� in a to Trump. The group had assured the defendants that Trump would review their cases and pardon them when he took office, according to the letter.
鈥淭oday, freedom rings in our great nation,鈥� Steve Crampton, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, said Thursday, adding, 鈥漌hat happened to them can never be erased, but today鈥檚 pardons are a huge step towards restoring justice.鈥�
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, among Trump鈥檚 most loyal supporters, called the prosecution of anti-abortion protesters 鈥渁 grotesque assault on the principles of this country鈥� and urged Trump to pardon them while reading the stories of such anti-abortion protesters on the Senate floor Thursday. He highlighted , who was involved in a 2021 Tennessee clinic blockade and whose story has garnered attention from the largest national anti-abortion groups.
he 鈥渉ad a great conversation鈥� Thursday morning with Trump about the protesters.
The news of the pardons comes ahead of Friday鈥檚 annual anti-abortion protest March for Life in Washington, where the president is expected to address the crowd in a video.
Christine Fernando, The Associated Press
