In a provocative move that has reignited fierce debate over reproductive rights in America, former President Donald Trump on Thursday issued full pardons to a group of anti-abortion activists who had been convicted of obstructing access to abortion clinics in violation of federal law. The individuals, who were involved in a high-profile clinic blockade in Washington D.C. in October 2020, had been sentenced to multi-year prison terms for their actions.
Trump hailed the activists as “peaceful pro-life protesters” who “should not have been prosecuted” as he announced the pardons in a defiant speech. “They did nothing wrong,” he declared to applause from supporters. The former president has long aligned himself with the anti-abortion movement and has vowed to champion their cause.
The pardoned individuals include Lauren Handy, who had been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for orchestrating the blockade by directing protesters to chain themselves together to obstruct the clinic doors. Her actions led to a nurse injuring her ankle and a woman in labor being accosted as she tried to enter.
Also pardoned were Handy’s nine co-defendants from several states who participated in the blockade. Prosecutors had strongly condemned their actions as a threat to abortion access protected under federal law. But anti-abortion activists celebrated them as heroes of the movement.
A Deliberate Strategy
The pardons came after escalating calls from anti-abortion advocates for Trump to intervene on behalf of protesters charged under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits obstructing abortion clinics. The 1994 law aims to safeguard clinics in the wake of surging blockades and violence against providers in the early 1990s.
Trump had previously criticized the Biden administration’s Department of Justice for pursuing charges against clinic blockaders, naming Paulette Harlow in particular in a campaign-style speech in June. “We’re going to get that taken care of immediately,” he had pledged to cheers.
The pardons appear to be a strategic move by Trump to solidify his anti-abortion credentials and energize his base as he ramps up his 2024 presidential campaign. Abortion has become a pivotal issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, with Trump taking credit for the conservative justices he appointed who shifted the court.
Fulfilling a Promise
Anti-abortion groups were quick to thank Trump for delivering on his promise to pardon the protesters. “Today, freedom rings in our great nation,” declared Steve Crampton of the Thomas More Society, which represents some of the activists. The group claims they were “unjustly imprisoned.”
Trump’s close ally GOP Sen. Josh Hawley also cheered the news ahead of Friday’s annual March for Life demonstration in Washington. He called the prosecutions a “grotesque assault on the principles of this country” while urging the pardons. Hawley said he had a “great conversation” with Trump about the issue Thursday.
Reproductive rights advocates, however, slammed the pardons as exposing the insincerity of Trump’s vague attempts to moderate his absolutist anti-abortion stance on the campaign trail to appeal to a broader electorate while still rallying his base. “We never believed that that was true, and this shows us that we were right,” said Reproductive Freedom for All’s Ryan Stitzlein.
An Intensifying Battle
The pardons inject even more volatility into the already explosive national debate over abortion rights that has upended American politics since the fall of Roe. With both sides viewing the 2024 election as existential for their cause, all signs point to an intensifying battle ahead.
For abortion rights advocates, the pardons are an ominous sign of the lengths Trump and his allies are willing to go to restrict reproductive autonomy. “This shows the threat we are facing,” said Stitzlein about what he called Trump’s “extreme” stance. Defenders of abortion access worry clinic obstructions could now surge.
Anti-abortion activists, meanwhile, are emboldened and view Trump’s action as a green light to escalate their efforts. “This is just the beginning,” said Handy after her pardon. “We won’t rest until abortion is unthinkable.” The movement is pressuring state and local officials to get more aggressive against abortion.
With the 2024 campaign now underway, and the anti-abortion movement adamant that Republicans follow through on their promises, the fight over reproductive rights is poised to be more fervid than ever. As Trump’s pardons show, neither side is backing down in this uncompromising moral and political clash over the future of abortion in a post-Roe America.
