Charles T. Canady: “I rise today to oppose the conference report on the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act because the FACE Act will…”

“I rise today to oppose the conference report on the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act because the FACE Act will penalize people for the peaceful and lawful expression of their beliefs. This bill subject protestors to harsh criminal and civil penalties on the basis of the belief which motivates them to engage in protest. A pro-life protestor engaged in a confrontation with an abortion rights protestor in front of a clinic could be required to serve a harsh federal sentence and pay civil damages, while the abortion rights protestor would be able to engage in the same or more egregious acts with immunity from federal government punishment. In fact, the abortion rights protestor could even profit from his or her actions by suing the pro-life protestor claiming her or she has been ``aggrieved by a violation'' of the FACE Act. This act gives so-called ``clinic defenders'' and clinic personnel a license to taunt, abuse, provoke and obstruct pro-life people engaged in legal picketing, prayer or sidewalk counseling. Moreover, it creates an economic incentive for so-called clinic defenders and personnel to incite a reaction from pro-life protestors. The FACE Act is clearly discriminatory. It creates a viewpoint-specific federal crime that offends the most fundamental principle of the First Amendment--that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea because society finds that idea disagreeable.”