Freedom to worship is never more than one election away from coming under fire. While an 800-page report released this week by the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed what most of us in the pro-life community suspected — that the FBI under President Joe Biden actively targeted pro-life activists — it also revealed the utter disdain that some federal employees have for people of faith.
The vast majority of pro-life Americans are so because of their sincerely held religious beliefs. The Bible explicitly asserts that life is valuable from the moment of conception. From Psalm 139, “you knit me together in my mother’s womb,” to Jeremiah 1:5, “before I formed you in the womb I knew you,” God makes clear that the unborn are cherished. Combined with the commandment to not commit murder, destroying life in the womb is an abominable affront to God’s design. It is no surprise, then, when the pro-abortion movement so vigorously persecutes and attacks Christians. It is revealing, however, when they are so brazen about it.
The recently released report shows the extent to which the Biden administration and pro-abortion groups colluded to persecute peaceful pro-life activists and their families by using the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Though originally sold as legislation that would protect church-going Americans equally with those visiting abortion facilities, the FACE Act has long been used to persecute those who advocate for the unborn. In the 30 years since it was signed into law, 97% of federal prosecutions under the FACE Act have been against pro-life Americans. This, despite hundreds of attacks against pregnancy resource centers and churches during that time. Instead of arresting those responsible for threatening, defacing, or burning these ministries, instead of using the FACE Act to prosecute those who made Sunday mornings feel unsafe for millions of Christians, the Biden administration rounded up those who peacefully advocated for protecting the unborn.
It is not conjecture to say that this was based partly on a contempt for Bible-believing Americans. The report revealed that in United States v. Zastrow (Zastrow being a Catholic family heavily engaged in pro-life activism), the Biden DOJ prosecutors tried to screen out jurors based on religion by seeking “an indirect way to get some more info about religion without directly asking for it.” This led to several Christian jurors being flagged for “preemptory and for-cause strikes from the jury pool because of their faith.” The prosecutors did not inquire about jurors’ possible liberal counterviews.
In emails, DOJ employees referred to Christian pro-life views as “culty,” and in the courtroom, openly lambasted the religious beliefs of the defendants. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Lee Carlson complained that, in the Zastrow case, they “ended up with a very Catholic magistrate on duty this week, and he was very particular about the bond conditions and not infringing on [the defendants’] First Amendment rights.” As if protecting First Amendment rights were a negative.
Then there was the case of Mark Houck, a father of seven who was arrested for allegedly violating the FACE Act. While speaking outside of a Planned Parenthood facility, an escort mocked and ridiculed Houck’s 12-year-old son. Houck stepped in and pushed the escort away from his young son. The DOJ report reveals that Houck and his attorneys offered to accept a summons and come in voluntarily if the Biden DOJ pursued a criminal case. But the Biden FBI declined the offer from the “devout pro-life Catholic” and instead sent 16 armed FBI agents and seven vehicles to Houck’s home and put him in handcuffs in front of his family.
It is hard to imagine the DOJ admitting that a defendant is a devout member of any other religion and using that as grounds to bring the full might of the FBI to their doorstep in a clear intimidation stunt. And yet that is what happened to Houck and many other Christian pro-life advocates during the Biden administration.
The freedom to worship as we see fit is one of the most cherished of all American rights. It is that freedom that the Pilgrims pursued when they crossed the Atlantic, fleeing religious persecution in the European homeland. They were followed by the Baptists, the Quakers, the Roman Catholics, among others, all seeking the chance to practice their faith free from a tyrannical government. Yet under the Biden administration, many faithful Christians were unjustly prosecuted by a government that viewed their beliefs as less equal than those who push for a right to abortion.
As we at Concerned Women for America celebrate April as Faith Month, this is a prescient reminder that freedom of religion cannot ever be taken for granted. America was founded on the solid foundations of Christianity, on the belief that all life is created equal, even life in the womb. May we continue to hold our government accountable whenever it forgets that.
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Maggie McKneely is Director of Government Relations for Concerned Women for America, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization. On X: @CWforA
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