Are freedom of religion and freedom of speech once again under attack? That’s the concern being raised by First Amendment and pro-life advocates over a new law that criminalizes and creates civil liability for certain forms of “interference with reproductive health care services” – which is, of course, a euphemism for abortion. Ostensibly, the law forbids threats and intimidation. But what about peaceful protests and prayer?
Under the new law signed by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, “interference” includes a “threat of force” that “intimidates, threatens, or coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce” anyone seeking, providing, volunteering, or assisting with “reproductive health care.” The law also states that a person is guilty of interference if he or she “causes a reasonable person to suffer… mental anguish, or emotional harm on the basis that the person, entity, or facility provides, volunteers, assists with, or receives reproductive health care services.”
New Jersey Right to Life Executive Director Marie Tasy warned the law could easily be used to misconstrue “peaceful sidewalk counseling, prayer, holding signs, or simply offering help and alternatives outside a facility” as threatening or intimidating conduct. “[The law leaves] pro-life advocates open to criminal charges that are difficult to disprove and [chills] constitutionally protected expression,” Tasy said in a statement.
A Valid Warning
Tasy’s warning is far from hypothetical; pro-life advocates have been arrested and charged while peacefully praying outside abortion clinics before. In one of the most high-profile cases, Mark Houck, a Catholic pro-life activist, was charged for allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a 1994 law that prohibits “intentionally injuring, intimidating, or interfering with, or attempting to injure, intimidate, or interfere, any person by force… from obtaining or providing reproductive health services.” Sound familiar?
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The case stemmed from an altercation that occurred outside of a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood facility where Houck was praying with his 12-year-old son. When a volunteer at the abortion clinic aggressively confronted his child, Houck defended him. Roughly one year after the incident, dozens of FBI agents from President Joe Biden’s Justice Department launched a raid on Houck’s home, arresting him at gunpoint.
Houck was eventually acquitted of all charges and wound up suing the FBI and Justice Department for malicious and retaliatory prosecution, false arrest, abuse of process, and assault. According to Houck, he and his wife endured three miscarriages from the stress of the raid, and his children suffered “constant fears of losing their father or mother, and inability to sleep because of the traumatic nature of the arrest,” reported EWTN, a Catholic news agency.
Earlier this year, Houck won a seven-figure settlement from the Justice Department, but it doesn’t change the fact that Biden’s DOJ saw a man who was peacefully praying outside of an abortion clinic with his young son and seemingly went searching for a reason to make him a target.
Abortion – Not a Constitutional Right
Much to the chagrin of “reproductive health care” advocates, abortion is not a constitutional right. But you know what the Constitution does protect? Freedom of religion and speech.
No matter how uncomfortable women seeking abortions may feel, the First Amendment does not cease to exist outside of abortion clinics. The state can certainly punish violence, threats, and harassment, but it appears the language in New Jersey’s law was intentionally vague to allow the subtle inclusion of peaceful pro-life activities. Even the FACE Act doesn’t include the terms “mental anguish” or “emotional harm,” and the DOJ still used it to attack a peacefully praying pro-life activist. How far will New Jersey go to silence peaceful pro-lifers?
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