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Civil Rights
 


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.

 

 

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