(January 15, 2025 – Washington, D.C.) On January 14, 2025, Thomas More Society attorneys submitted to the incoming Trump administration formal requests for presidential pardons on behalf of 21 pro-life advocates who have been unjustly prosecuted, convicted, and in several cases, imprisoned, by the Biden Department of Justice. In their letter submitted to President Donald J. Trump, Thomas More Society attorneys “urge that these pro-life Americans are deserving of full and unconditional pardons.”

The pardon request package includes 21 individual pardon requests, one for each pro-life advocate, outlining the specific facts of each case, their upstanding personal and moral character, and the reasons why President Trump should grant a presidential pardon. The pardon request package also includes a cover letter outlining the legal rationale for the requested pardons and explains how the Biden DOJ routinely and unconstitutionally weaponized the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and “Conspiracy Against Rights” statute against peaceful pro-life advocates.

The 21 pro-life advocates for whom Thomas More Society has submitted pardon requests are: Joan Bell, Coleman Boyd, Joel Curry, Jonathan Darnel, Eva Edl, Chester Gallagher, William Goodman, Dennis Green, Lauren Handy, Paulette Harlow, John Hinshaw, Heather Idoni, Jean Marshall, Fr. Fidelis Moscinski, Justin Phillips, Paul Place, Paul Vaughn, Bevelyn Beatty Williams, Calvin Zastrow, Eva Zastrow, and James Zastrow.

Steve Crampton, Thomas More Society Senior Counsel, stated: 

“With these requests for presidential pardons for 21 peaceful pro-life advocates, we urge President Trump to right the grievous wrongs of the Biden administration’s weaponization of the Department of Justice These 21 peaceful pro-lifers, many of whom are currently imprisoned for bravely standing up for unborn life, are upstanding citizens and pillars of their communities. Through full and unconditional pardons for these pro-life advocates, President Trump has the chance to remedy the harm done to them and their families, deliver on his campaign promises, and repair trust in our constitutional order.”

On at least three occasions, President Trump has publicly signaled his intent to pardon the pro-life advocates wrongly prosecuted during the Biden administration. In September 2023, on the heels of the FACE Act convictions in Washington, D.C., President Trump stated he would review the “cases of every political prisoner who’s been unjustly persecuted by the Biden administration.” In February 2024, in a speech to the National Religious Broadcasters in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump referenced the “pro-life activists... convicted on outrageous charges” in the Nashville FACE Act trial and pledged to review those convictions following his return to office. In June 2024, in a speech for the Faith and Freedom Coalition, Trump reiterated his earlier statements and specifically referenced 76-year-old Paulette Harlow in his remarks, who is included among the pro-life advocates requesting a full pardon in the communicated pardon request package.

Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation, added:

“We are hopeful that the second Trump administration will spell a new day for pro-life advocates who have faced FBI raids, federal prosecutions, and severe punishment for peacefully and courageously witnessing for life. By acting on the requested presidential pardons, President Trump has a golden opportunity to not only stop the lawfare against peaceful pro-lifers, but to also undo some of the unprecedented damage of the Biden administration. Inside and outside the courtroom, Thomas More Society attorneys have seen up close the harm inflicted by the Biden DOJ’s weaponization the FACE Act. Today, we call on President Trump to pardon these peaceful pro-lifers and put an end to this government overreach.”

Read the Pardon Request Package Cover Letter, “Re: Petitions for Pardon of 21 Peaceful Pro-Life Advocates,” addressed to President Donald J. Trump, by Thomas More Society attorneys on behalf of 21 pro-life advocates, here. For privacy reasons, the detailed individual requests are unable to be made public.

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