I wish I did more to advance the pro-life cause.

I write about it, I go to marches, I send money to pro-life groups, and I even appear as a speaker at many pro-life events. But I’m not on the front lines, like the men and women who are risking their freedom, thanks to a politicized U.S. Justice Department.

It appears that the Biden administration is annoyed by those whose views violate the core beliefs of the current chief executive, chief among them an understanding that abortion is a moral abomination.

And if the situation ended there, with some fiery speeches from the president and fingers pointed from the mainstream media, that would be fine. Viva the First Amendment.

But it hasn’t ended there. The crusade of this administration to essentially erase and eliminate pro-life dissent has reached a breaking point, such that now it’s not enough to simply mock those of us who defend the right to life from conception to natural death.

It is now necessary to throw us in jail, by employing a law that — while ruled constitutional — is obviously designed to punish the pro-life movement. And the decision to use this law now, and with increasing frequency, shows that selective prosecution is now the modus operandi of the organization we can call Biden Incorporated (he being from Delaware, and all.)

Back in October 2020, a group of pro-life activists obstructed the entrance to a notorious abortion clinic in Washington, D.C., whose principal physician had been known to perform abortions well into the last trimester of pregnancy.

We are all aware of the horror story of Kermit Gosnell, the so-called “Butcher of West Philly.”

Well, Dr. Cesare Santangelo was once caught on undercover video stating that he would deny lifesaving treatment to a child that had survived one of his abortions, and, according to a report from LifeNews, called a nearby hospital’s efforts to try and save the life of one such child “the stupidest thing they could have done.”

That is exactly the level of inhumanity that you find at many of these abortion clinics, the sense that they have a job to do and that they are simply removing a tumor, or taking out the trash.

One can forgive me for doubting the sincerity of anyone who believes that “reproductive rights” is anything other than a euphemism for “it’s not a baby until I say it is.”

But to be honest, this isn’t about our personal feelings regarding abortion.

What matters here, beyond morality and barbarity, is the very obvious fact that Congress passed a law targeting the pro-life movement, and after a few decades of leaving it on a statutory shelf, decided to pull it out, dust it off and use it to crush a movement.

The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) criminalizes activities that prohibit access to abortion clinics and churches.

Passed in 1994 and signed into law by Bill Clinton, its constitutionality was challenged and upheld by the Supreme Court.

While some have argued that the inclusion of churches undermines the accusation that this law was designed to gut the pro-life movement by threatening our activists with jail time, it’s a specious claim.

Virtually every prosecution under the law has targeted protesters at abortion clinics. To my knowledge, no one has been charged under FACE with a church bombing, a synagogue defacement or threats called into a mosque.

This is designed to stop pro-life activists from doing what they’ve always done: lobby on behalf of the most innocent.

Last week, Lauren Handy was sentenced to almost five years in federal prison after having been convicted under FACE. The fact that she is a well-known voice on the Left, a progressive Catholic, puts the lie to the idea that pro-lifers are right-wing fanatics looking to bomb abortion clínics.

We are legion, and we come from every race, creed and nationality on the planet. The only thing we share is this: respect for unborn life.

And this: A disgust with this administration and its biased, overreaching Justice Department.

Every person who values their civil rights, as well as the human rights of the unborn, should consider that at the polls in November.

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Copyright 2024 Christine Flowers, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

Christine Flowers is an attorney and a columnist for the Delaware County Daily Times, and can be reached at [email protected].