Biden’s war on the pro-life movement

OPINION:

Democrats are always whining about how President Trump is politicizing the administration of justice, but it was his predecessor’s war on the pro-life movement that provided the most egregious example of this.

A just-released 882-page report by the current Department of Justice documents how President Biden’s Justice Department practically became an auxiliary of pro-choice activists.

The documentation includes emails showing how a department task force — set up Attorney General Merrick Garland the month after Roe v. Wade was overturned — worked closely with groups such as the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (the nation’s leading abortion provider), the Feminist Majority Foundation and the National Abortion Federation to monitor, investigate and charge their opponents.

Its weapon of choice was the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits blocking access to abortion clinics and houses of worship.

On average, Biden prosecutors sought 26.8-month prison sentences for pro-life defendants but only 12.3-month sentences for pro-choice defendants.

One of the Justice Department’s targets was pro-life activist Mark Houck, a Catholic father of seven who was arrested by an FBI SWAT team and led away in handcuffs in front of his family. Mr. Houck was charged with pushing a clinic escort who was harassing his son. He was acquitted at a federal jury trial and later reached what is rumored to be a six-figure settlement with Mr. Garland’s department.

Sanjay Patel, in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division’s criminal section, even offered to serve as a reference to help the National Abortion Federation receive a private grant to enhance security at abortion clinics.

Overall, Mr. Biden’s Justice Department brought charges against 26 pro-life activists in 2022 alone.

The report also details how the department “often ignored and downplayed vandalism and attacks against pregnancy resource centers or houses of worship.”

Apparently, nothing was too petty or vindictive. This included blocking the planned 2021 March for Life rally on the National Mall. The excuse was the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, even though there was no connection between the two.

Mr. Patel was fired Monday, along with three other federal prosecutors who handled FACE cases under Mr. Garland.

“This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declared.

Lady Justice is blindfolded for a reason. She looks neither right nor left. She doesn’t have an ideology or a cause other than the impartial administration of justice. That should be the aim of every administration.