The liberal-left elite in the USA are stepping up the persecution of peaceful pro-lifers. Earlier this week, prosecutors filed additional cases against Red Rose Rescuers in Pennsylvania and New York, again raising concerns about the weaponization of the Department of Justice and the government’s use of lawfare against peaceful pro-life protesters.
The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit on Monday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against a man for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The FACE Act is a federal statute that prohibits use of force, threats of force or physical obstruction against anyone for seeking or providing reproductive health services.”
The lawsuit alleges that, on Aug. 27, 2021, Matthew Connolly violated the FACE Act by intentionally creating a physical obstruction at a reproductive health clinic in Philadelphia, according to a Department of Justice press release.
In particular, the complaint alleges that the defendant, after entering the clinic, barricaded himself inside one of the clinic’s bathrooms and that his actions forced the clinic to shut down for the day, requiring the intervention of the local police.
The complaint further claims that as a result at least 44 appointments had to be rescheduled. The complaint seeks monetary penalties and injunctive relief as provided by the FACE Act.
“This lawsuit against Matthew Connolly is another instance of a weaponized Department of Justice obsessed with persecuting non-violent pro-lifers who seek to simply defend unborn children scheduled for the violent act of abortion and offer help and compassion to their mothers,” Monica Migliorino Miller, director of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society, told LifeSiteNews in an email.
“Let’s be clear. Red Rose Rescues do not violate the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Those who participate do not physically obstruct or interfere with anyone’s freedom of movement!” Miller explained.
“Moreover, it is highly likely that the FACE law is unconstitutional,” she noted. “The DOJ is attempting to twist and stretch the language of this bad law to try and make what Red Rose Rescuers actually do fit that language.”
“If we were living in a world based on objective reality it is the so-called doctors who kill the innocent unborn who would be prosecuted, not those who honor the sanctity of life and seek to protect the innocent,” Miller added.