Just four days after President Donald Trump assumed the presidency, the Justice Department has decided to limit prosecutions related to obstructing access to reproductive health clinics.

According to a memo obtained by YSL News, Trump’s chief of staff for the attorney general, Chad Mizelle, announced that new restrictions would affect prosecutions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, established in 1994. This law makes it illegal to physically block someone seeking an abortion or to intentionally damage a facility providing reproductive health care. It also offers similar protections to those attending religious services and their places of worship.

Mizelle indicated in the memo that many Americans see prosecutions under the FACE Act as a clear example of government overreach.

“Despite over 100 crisis pregnancy centers, pro-life groups, and churches experiencing attacks after the Dobbs ruling, almost all FACE Act prosecutions have targeted pro-life protesters,” Mizelle stated. “This is not a fair application of justice.”

In 2022, the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion.

Mizelle further noted that from now on, prosecutions and civil actions related to the FACE Act involving abortion will only be allowed in “extraordinary circumstances, or in cases with serious aggravating factors like death, severe injury, or major property damage.”

On the same day, Trump granted pardons to 23 anti-abortion protesters, including individuals who had blocked an abortion clinic’s entrance.

Additionally, Mizelle directed the department to dismiss three ongoing cases involving the FACE Act.