Trump’s cancellation was supported by 23 activists

Donald Trump, president of the United States, issued pardons on Thursday to 23 pro-life activists, fulfilling a promise he made during the presidential campaign.

Trump signed the pardons in the Oval Office of the White House this Thursday, one day before the March for Life that will take place in Washington DC, according to the Thomas More Society.

Last week, the religious liberty law firm asked the incoming president to issue 21 individual pardons for pro-life advocates who were arrested for violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and the “Conspiracy against Rights” statute while peacefully participating in protests at abortion centers.

Several of those convicted and imprisoned were elderly and in poor health.

At least twice during his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump said he intended to release pro-life activists who are currently imprisoned.

“These peaceful pro-life Americans mistreated by (President Joe) Biden include grandparents, pastors, a Holocaust survivor, and a Catholic priest; They are all selfless and sincere patriots,” the petition from the Chicago-based law firm reads.

During Biden’s four years in office, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) charged more than 30 people who participated in pro-life protests under the FACE Act, which was legislation in the 1990s to increase penalties for people who obstruct access to abortion centers or pregnancy resource centers.

Although the FACE Act’s harsher sentences also apply to people who obstruct or damage pro-life pregnancy centers, Biden’s Justice Department only brought charges in two cases involving attacks on those facilities even though more than 100 incidents during his tenure.

“While Biden’s prosecutors almost completely ignored the firebombing and vandalism of hundreds of pro-life churches and pregnancy centers, they brutally persecuted pro-life Americans,” the petition adds.

The longest sentence was imposed last year on Lauren Handywho received four years and nine months in prison for his role in a protest at an abortion center in Washington, D.C. The second-longest sentence was also imposed last year on Bevelyn Beatty Williamswho received three years and five months in prison for a protest inside an abortion center in New York City.

Several pro-life activists between 70 and 80 years old They also received sentences of several years for their protests.

“These 21 peaceful pro-lifers, many of whom are currently imprisoned for bravely defending the lives of the unborn, are upstanding citizens and pillars of their communities,” said Steve Crampton, who serves as senior advisor to the Thomas More Society, in a statement.

This is a developing story.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.