President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order relating to clemency for anti-abortion protesters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on January 23, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

President Donald Trump announced Thursday (January 23, 2025) he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances.

Mr. Trump called it “a great honor to sign this.”

“They should not have been prosecuted,” he said as he signed pardons for “peaceful pro-life protesters.” The people pardoned were involved in the October 2020 invasion and blockade of a Washington clinic.

Lauren Handy was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for leading the blockade by directing blockaders to link themselves together with locks and chains to block the clinic’s doors. A nurse sprained her ankle when one person pushed her while entering the clinic, and a woman was accosted by another blockader while having labor pains, prosecutors said. Police found five fetuses in Handy’s home after she was indicted.

Mr. Trump pardoned Handy and her nine co-defendants: Jonathan Darnel of Virginia; Jay Smith, John Hinshaw and William Goodman, all of New York; Joan Bell of New Jersey; Paulette Harlow and Jean Marshall, both of Massachusetts; Heather Idoni of Michigan; and Herb Geraghty of Pennsylvania.

In the first week of Mr. Trump’s presidency, anti-abortion advocates have ramped up calls for Mr. Trump to pardon protesters charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which is designed to protect abortion clinics from obstruction and threats. The 1994 law was passed during a time where clinic protests and blockades were on the rise, as was violence against abortion providers, such as the murder of Dr. David Gunn in 1993.

Mr. Trump specifically mentioned Harlow in a June speech criticising former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice for pursuing charges against protesters involved in blockades.

“Many people are in jail over this,” he said in June, adding, ”We’re going to get that taken care of immediately.”

Abortion rights advocates slammed Mr. Trump’s pardons as evidence of his Opposition to abortion access, despite his vague, contradictory statements on the issue as he attempted to find a middle ground on the campaign trail between anti-abortion allies and the majority of Americans who support abortion rights.

“Donald Trump on the campaign trail tried to have it both ways — bragging about his role in overturning Roe v. Wade while saying he wasn’t going to take action on abortion,” said Ryan Stitzlein, vice president of political and government relations for the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All. “We never believed that that was true, and this shows us that we were right,” he said.

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser thanked Mr. Trump for “immediately delivering on his promise” to pardon the protesters, arguing their prosecutions were political.

The legal group Thomas More Society argued the FACE Act defendants they represent had been “unjustly imprisoned” in a January letter to Mr. Trump. The group had assured the defendants that Mr. Trump would review their cases and pardon them when he took office, according to the letter.

“Today, freedom rings in our great nation,” Steve Crampton, senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, said on Thursday (January 23, 2025), adding, ”What happened to them can never be erased, but today’s pardons are a huge step towards restoring justice.”

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, among Mr. Trump’s most loyal supporters, called the prosecution of anti-abortion protesters “a grotesque assault on the principles of this country” and urged Mr. Trump to pardon them while reading the stories of such anti-abortion protesters on the Senate floor Thursday (January 23, 2025). He highlighted Eva Edl, who was involved in a 2021 Tennessee clinic blockade and whose story has garnered attention from the largest national anti-abortion groups.

Sen. Hawley said he “had a great conversation” Thursday (January 23, 2025) morning with Mr. Trump about the protesters.

The news of the pardons comes ahead of Friday’s (January 24, 2025) annual anti-abortion protest March for Life in Washington, where the President is expected to address the crowd in a video.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration
| Photo Credit: Evan Vucci

Donald Trump is set to take the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, January 20, alongside Vice President-elect JD Vance. The Republican leader will formally return to the White House for the second time after winning the 2024 presidential race against outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris. The official swearing-in ceremony will take place at 12 p.m. ET (1700 GMT) and 10 p.m. IST on January 20, 2025. President Trump will be administered the oath of office by Chief Justice John Roberts, marking the start of his second term. 

Also Read: Early Modi-Trump meet, Quad summit, trade, immigration, and tariffs on Jaishankar’s Washington agenda

Where to watch the inauguration?

The swearing-in ceremony is a public event, and thousands of people are expected to gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to watch the ceremony unfold on large video screens. For those who cannot make it to Washington, the event will be broadcast live on major news channels like ABC, NBC, and CNN. Additionally, live streaming will be available on multiple platforms, ensuring global access to this event.

You can watch the YouTube live at Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies’ channel.

Also Read: Donald Trump’s inauguration: Schedule and other key details 

Major news networks will provide live coverage, including Fox News and MSNBC, and international channels like BBC and Al Jazeera. Additionally, the White House will stream the ceremony on its official website, enabling viewers worldwide to watch the event. You can also read The Hindu’s live blog coverage from the event.