Congress moves to strip federal protections from abortion clinics

What it does

This bill repeals the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a 1994 federal law that criminalizes violence, threats, and blockades targeting abortion clinics and other reproductive health facilities. Repeal would eliminate federal criminal penalties for attacks on clinic staff and patients, leaving enforcement to state law only.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is the repeal of 18 U.S.C. § 248, which criminalized violence, threats, and blockades at abortion clinics. The title accurately describes what the bill does — it is not misdirected, but the policy itself is highly contentious.

What the text implies

• Repeal applies retroactively to pending prosecutions under § 248, potentially vacating convictions or allowing dismissal of charges already filed.
• State law enforcement becomes the sole avenue for clinic violence prosecution; enforcement will vary dramatically by jurisdiction, leaving some regions with minimal protection.
• Federal law enforcement agencies (FBI, DOJ) lose statutory authority to investigate or prosecute clinic violence as a federal crime, shifting burden entirely to state/local authorities.
• Clinics in states with weak or hostile abortion laws may face heightened vulnerability to violence and intimidation with no federal recourse.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Repeal eliminates federal criminal penalties for violence, threats, intimidation, and blockades targeting abortion clinics and reproductive health facilities. Patients and providers lose a layer of federal protection; enforcement falls entirely to state law, which varies widely and may be weaker or non-existent in some jurisdictions.

Named in the bill

18 U.S.C. § 248 (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act), U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Abortion clinics and reproductive health facilities, State law enforcement

Where it stands

44 cosponsors: 44 Republicans.

• Jan 21, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jan 21, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
• Jun 10, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jun 10, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by the Yeas and Nays: 13 - 10”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

4 lobbying clients named this bill on 6 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $881,423 in lobbying spend. A filing names 56 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 72% of bills with at least one filing.

Chip Roy, the sponsor, reported $68,100 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc — $652,972 on 1 filing
• Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc. — $120,000 on 2 filings
• National Women's Law Center Action Fund — $75,000 on 1 filing
• Power to Decide — $33,451 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.