Anti-choice group seeks Supreme Court review of federal clinic access law; Congress holds hearings

Reprod Freedom News. 1995 May 19;4(10):2.

Abstract

PIP: The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) is a federal statute which was signed into law May 1994 prohibiting the use of force, threat of force, or physical obstruction to intentionally injure, intimidate, or interfere with anyone providing reproductive health services. Since FACE was enacted, seven federal district courts and one federal appellate court have found the measure constitutional, although one federal district court in Wisconsin did rule against FACE. Anti-choice activists have argued that neither the Commerce Clause nor the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution empower Congress to enact FACE. Congress relied upon both constitutional provisions when it enacted the statute, recognizing that illegal, violent acts against abortion providers and their patients threaten to disrupt medical care nationwide and eliminate the right to choose abortion. The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on February 13, 1995, however, unanimously upheld a lower court's dismissal of the case, finding that FACE does not violate the US Constitution. Relying upon an April 26 Supreme Court decision in United States vs. Lopez, which held that Congress did not have the power under the Commerce Clause to enact a federal statute prohibiting the possession of a firearm within 100 feet of a school zone, an anti-choice group and several individuals petitioned the US Supreme Court in a May 12 filing to review the appellate court ruling in American Life League vs. Reno. The petitioners also challenge the broad powers of Congress under the Fourteenth Amendment to remedy infringements upon constitutional rights and assert FACE violates the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

MeSH terms

  • Abortion, Induced*
  • Ambulatory Care Facilities*
  • Americas
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • Developed Countries
  • Health
  • Health Facilities
  • Jurisprudence*
  • Legislation as Topic*
  • North America
  • Politics
  • Public Opinion
  • United States