CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump announced Thursday he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances.
Trump called it 鈥渁 great honor to sign this.鈥�
"They should not have been prosecuted," he said as he signed pardons for "peaceful pro-life protesters.鈥�
Among the people pardoned were those involved in the and blockade of a Washington clinic.
In the first week of Trump鈥檚 presidency, anti-abortion advocates have ramped up calls for Trump to pardon protesters charged with violating the , 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 well as , such as the murder of in 1993.
Christine Fernando, The Associated Press
