President Trump Pardons 23 Pro-Life Activists Convicted Under Biden Administration

The activists had been charged under the FACE Act for protests at abortion clinics; pro-life groups hail the decision.
March for life 2025, people are marching on the street.
 March for life 2025, photo by GH


President Donald Trump has officially pardoned 23 pro-life activists who were charged with illegal protests at abortion clinics during the Biden administration. 

The pardons were announced on January 23, 2025, just one day before the annual "March for Life" event. These individuals had been convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act).

“They should never have been prosecuted. Many of them are elderly. It is a great honor to sign this pardon,” President Trump said during the announcement.

Just days before Trump’s inauguration, attorneys from the Thomas More Society sent him a letter urging him to pardon pro-life activists who faced federal charges under the Biden administration.

Pro-life organizations welcomed Trump’s decision. Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, expressed her gratitude in a statement: “We are thankful that President Trump acted swiftly to fulfill his promise by releasing peaceful pro-life demonstrators who were unjustly imprisoned by the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden.”

Dannenfelser also emphasized the challenges faced by some of those pardoned, stating, “Pro-life mothers, grandmothers, and even Eva Edl, a survivor of communist prison camps, were imprisoned for peacefully protesting abortion. As if that weren’t enough, Lauren Handy was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to expose evidence of late-term and illegal abortions in the nation’s capital.”

Tommy Valentine of CatholicVote similarly praised the pardons, calling them “a testament to President Trump’s honor and commitment to protecting life.”

*This article is a revised and translation of an article originally published by Christianity Daily.