The Joe Biden era has ended. And Trump is seeking to undo all his wrongs.
That’s why Trump ordered the DOJ to hand out 23 pardons with huge consequences for the nation.
President Trump Pardons 23 Pro-Life Activists Convicted Under Biden Administration
In a significant move this week, President Donald Trump granted pardons to 23 individuals who were convicted under the Biden administration for participating in peaceful pro-life protests at abortion clinics. The pardons come as a response to what many perceive as overly harsh legal actions taken by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against those advocating for the protection of unborn life.
“Twenty-three people were prosecuted, they should not have been prosecuted. Many of them are elderly people — they should not have been prosecuted,” Trump stated in a public address on Thursday. “This is a great honor to sign this.”
The pardons specifically concern individuals who had been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their demonstrations, some of whom are senior citizens. These pro-life protesters had engaged in peaceful acts of civil disobedience, such as praying or demonstrating at abortion clinics, to express their opposition to abortion. Under the Biden administration, these acts were prosecuted aggressively, with felony conspiracy charges being added to what would have otherwise been relatively minor offenses.
One notable example of those affected is 76-year-old Joan Bell, a Catholic woman who was sentenced to two years in prison for participating in a demonstration at the Washington Surgi-Clinic. This clinic, operated by Cesare Santangelo, has drawn significant attention in pro-life circles for its alleged involvement in late-term abortions. Santangelo has been accused of saying he would not assist babies born alive after an abortion, and several children have been found dead in the clinic’s medical waste boxes, raising serious ethical concerns.
BREAKING: President Donald Trump signs pardons for 23 pro-life prisoners.
"This is a great honor to sign this."https://t.co/EhEBJTNNEi pic.twitter.com/e5bfBv37XM
— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) January 23, 2025
Another individual pardoned was Paulette Harlow, a 75-year-old grandmother with diabetes and Hashimoto’s disease. Harlow was sentenced to two years in prison for causing a disturbance inside an abortion clinic in Washington, D.C. Due to her poor health, she was placed under house arrest before receiving her pardon this week.
“President Trump’s pardon today of pro-life activists unjustly imprisoned under President Biden is a great credit to his legacy,” said Tommy Valentine, the president of CatholicVote, a pro-life advocacy organization. Valentine went on to encourage Trump to continue advocating for a more balanced enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which was used to prosecute these individuals. “We hope he will go a step further in undoing Biden’s unjust legacy by directing his Department of Justice to evenly enforce the FACE Act, for as long as it is on the books, against violent pro-abortion extremists who have been attacking pregnancy resource centers and churches for years.”
Among the individuals granted clemency are a group of pro-life activists who in 2021 sang hymns and prayed in front of an abortion clinic in Nashville, Tennessee. These protesters received sentences ranging from six months to three years for allegedly “unlawfully obstructing access to reproductive health services,” according to the DOJ. Other pardoned individuals include Beverly Williams, a mother of a 2-year-old, and John Hinshaw, a grandfather whose two grandchildren were born while he was incarcerated.
The decision to pardon these individuals has been lauded by many within the pro-life community, including Heartbeat International, which praised the action in a statement released on Friday. “When pro-lifers are unfairly targeted, and punished excessively, for their peaceful protests, then presidential pardons are a must,” the organization said. “We are grateful for President Trump’s effort to right the wrongs of the activist Biden administration.”
These pardons highlight a valid concern among pro-life groups about the perceived imbalance in the legal treatment of pro-life activists compared to pro-abortion protesters. Critics argue that the current administration has disproportionately targeted peaceful pro-life demonstrators while downplaying the violence and vandalism perpetrated by pro-abortion extremists against crisis pregnancy centers and churches.
President Trump’s pardon of 23 pro-life activists resonates across the nation, and it just goes to show the ongoing tension between the government’s enforcement of abortion-related laws and the rights of individuals to peacefully protest against abortion. Pro-life advocates hope this action will set a precedent for more fair legal enforcement in the future.
For the crime of singing hymns and praying in front of a Nashville abortion clinic, these pro life activists (and others) were imprisoned by the Biden regime.
President Trump just now signed a pardon for them.
pic.twitter.com/9mFHa1A1wc— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 23, 2025
The Conservative Column will update you on any major news of pardons handed out by the second Trump administration.
