Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances
In
response to a series of violent acts associated with
abortion clinics, President Clinton signed into law
the Freedom Of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act
of 1994:
Title 18, U.S.C., Section 248.
The FACE Act prohibits the use of force or the threat of force, or
physical obstruction for the purpose of injuring, intimidating, or
interfering with a person seeking to obtain or provide reproductive
health services. Damage or destruction of property at these sites
is also prohibited. DOJ was designated as having enforcement responsibilities
for the Act.
Since March 1993, there have been five individuals (two receptionists - Boston,
Massachusetts; two doctors and one escort - Pensacola, Florida) shot to death
inside or within the property confines of an abortion clinic. A sixth victim,
a police officer, was killed during the bombing of an abortion clinic in Birmingham,
Alabama. Most recently, a sniper attack in Amherst, New York took the life
of a local doctor who had just arrived at his residence.
FACE
Initiatives
National
Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers
Following
a recent wave of violence directed at abortion and
other reproductive health care providers culminating
in the October 23, 1998, shooting death of a prominent
abortion doctor, Attorney General Janet Reno established
a National Task Force to coordinate the investigation
and prosecution of certain acts of violence and other
unlawful conduct directed at health care providers,
particularly those acts implicating the FACE Act. The
task force is chaired by DOJ's Assistant Attorney General
for Civil Rights and consists of representatives from
the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms;
the U.S. Marshal's Service; the U.S. Postal Service;
DOJ's Civil Rights Division; and the Executive Office
of United States Attorneys.