Police found foetuses at Handy’s Capitol Hill home, which anti-abortion activists said related to illegal late-term abortions. She was never charged with any offense in relation to this.
The pardons, signed on Thursday 23rd January came just ahead of the 2025 March for Life and benefit those who had been sentenced, including prison time, for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
“Twenty-three people that were prosecuted. They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump stated while signing the pardon. “Many of them are elderly. This is a great honour to sign this.”
According to The Christian Post, pro-life groups welcomed the decision, including Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, who expressed gratitude to Trump for fulfilling his promise to free activists unjustly imprisoned by President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice.
“Pro-life moms, grandmothers, and even Eva Edl, a Communist prison camp survivor, were jailed for peacefully protesting abortion,” Dannenfelser said in a statement.
CatholicVote’s Tommy Valentine also praised the pardon, calling it a significant part of Trump’s legacy.
The Thomas More Society had previously urged Trump to grant clemency to 21 pro-life activists, including Joan Bell, Eva Edl, and Lauren Handy, all of whom were prosecuted for their role in peaceful demonstrations at abortion clinics.
The organisation’s senior counsel, Steve Crampton, celebrated the pardons as a victory for justice.
“These heroic pro-lifers were wrongfully imprisoned, and now they can return home to their families,” he said.
Troy Miller, president of National Religious Broadcasters, also supported the move, urging the repeal of the FACE Act, which has been criticised by some as a tool for the weaponisation of the law against pro-life activists.
Pro-choice organisations like the National Abortion Federation maintain that the FACE Act allows for peaceful protest while protecting clinics from obstruction and intimidation.
According to the NAF, the law preserves the First Amendment rights of protesters while ensuring abortion providers can operate without interference.
