The six pro-life advocates facing more than a decade in federal prison heard back from a Nashville jury of five men and 11 women on Jan. 30 with a verdict of guilty on all counts. They were not taken into custody and will be sentenced on July 2.
They were charged with felony violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrance (FACE) Act, and conspiracy to violate the FACE Act for trying to talk women out of aborting their babies at a now-closed abortion clinic. They were among a group who read from the Bible, sang church hymns, and in some cases, blocked the door to Carafem Health Center in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
Court testimony from a police officer said the group moved from the door when asked that they were peaceful.
The incident occurred in March 2021. In August 2022, Tennessee changed its law, making abortion illegal in most cases.
In October 2022, the Department of Justice arrested 11 people who participated in the 2021 incident. Of those, the six found guilty face up to 11 years in federal prison. Another four face lesser charges. Their trial is to be scheduled now that the case for the first six has wrapped up.
Attorney Reacts
The six convicted are Paul Vaughn and Chester Gallagher, both of Tennessee; Heather Idoni and Calvin Zastrow of Michigan; Coleman Boyd of Mississippi; and Dennis Green of Virginia. Ms. Idoni is already in prison for a previous FACE Act violation.
The defendants were represented by different attorneys. The Thomas More Society attorneys who represented Mr. Vaughn said in a statement they expect to appeal the conviction.
The four charged with the FACE Act alone are Eva Edl of South Carolina, Eva Zastrow of Arkansas, James Zastrow of Missouri, and Paul Place of Tennessee.
“We are, of course, disappointed with the outcome,” Steve Crampton, Thomas More Society Senior Counsel and attorney for Mr. Vaughn, said in a statement. “This was a peaceful demonstration by entirely peaceable citizens—filled with prayer, hymn-singing, and worship—oriented toward persuading expecting mothers not to abort their babies. Unfortunately, the Biden Department of Justice decided to characterize Paul Vaughn’s peaceful actions as a felony ‘conspiracy against rights,’ to intimidate and punish Paul and other pro-life people and people of faith.”
During testimony, a representative of the DOJ likened standing in front of the door of an abortion clinic to preventing someone from voting. The pro-life folks see it as trying to save the baby’s life.
During the trial, the supporters, friends, and family of the pro-lifers have been seen gathered in front of the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse to sing, worship God, and pray for a good outcome. That involves more than avoiding prison; they pray for an end of abortion in the United States. A network of hundreds of supporters across the country united on social media with promises of prayer and words of encouragement.
After the verdict, some were heard saying, “Worthy is the lamb,” a nod to their Christian faith. Then they went outside, formed a circle, and continued to pray and worship God.
Reproductive Rights Task Force
The FACE Act was seldom used until the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reversed Roe v. Wade in June 2022, resulting in the regulation of abortion being moved back to the states.That same month, President Joe Biden used an executive order to direct the DOJ to form the Reproductive Rights Task Force to enforce the FACE Act. With that, pro-life sidewalk counselors who work outside abortion clinics have been targeted by the FBI. The FACE Act charge comes with a year in prison, and the conspiracy charge the DOJ has added in recent cases carries up to 10 years in prison.
The FACE Act bans physical obstruction to “reproductive health services.”
“We are working to ensure that prosecutors across the country are equipped to bring FACE Act cases. And we have emphasized that Civil Rights Division attorneys are always available for consultation and technical assistance,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a December speech to the Reproductive Rights Task Force.
Enforcement of the FACE Act is a priority of the DOJ, according to its website. The FACE Act allows the DOJ to bring criminal or civil prosecutions. It means the DOJ can go to court on behalf of an abortion provider, patients, and workers, and ask for financial compensation for damages.
Using civil court, the DOJ has won judgments that bar specific pro-life people from entering the property of certain abortion providers.
Some Republicans in Congress have introduced a measure to repeal the FACE Act, but it has not had much movement.
The battle over how to regulate abortion in Tennessee is not over.
Recently, state Rep. Jason Zachary introduced a bill that would make it a crime for an adult to help a minor leave the state to get an abortion, unless that adult is the woman’s parent or guardian.
Allie Phillips, a Democrat candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives, wanted an abortion after learning her pregnancy was not viable, but could not get one in the state. She flew to New York to get an abortion but by the time she arrived, her baby, whom she named Miley Rose, no longer had a heartbeat and had died. The experience prompted her to run for office.
If elected, Ms. Phillips hopes to reverse some of the state’s abortion restrictions.
