Seven Convicted for Obstructing Access to Reproductive Health Services
- August 23, 2024
A federal jury convicted seven defendants of civil rights offenses arising out of their blockade of a reproductive health care clinic in Sterling Heights, MI in August 2020, the Department of Justice announced August 20.
According to a press release, the defendants were each convicted of a felony conspiracy against rights and a Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act offense. Two defendants were convicted of a second FACE Act offense arising out of a blockade of a different reproductive health care clinic.
“These defendants orchestrated an unlawful clinic blockade and physically obstructed patients seeking access to their doctors, without regard to the serious medical needs of the women they blocked from accessing reproductive health care,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.