Justice Department Fires 4 Prosecutors Over Alleged Bias in Anti-Abortion Cases

The U.S. Department of Justice has fired four federal prosecutors who worked on cases involving anti-abortion activists, escalating a growing political and legal battle over how abortion-related laws were enforced during the previous administration.

The dismissals, announced Tuesday, were tied to prosecutions brought under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, known as the FACE Act, a 1994 law that makes it a crime to obstruct access to reproductive health services or threaten patients and providers, which was sponsored in 1993 by the now deceased and very Catholic Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy.

According to the Associated Press, officials in the Trump administration said the firings were necessary to address what they described as politically biased enforcement of that law under former Attorney General Merrick Garland. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department would not tolerate what he called a "two-tiered system of justice," adding that "no department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs."

The terminations came just ahead of the release of a Justice Department report alleging that prosecutors during the Biden administration disproportionately targeted anti-abortion activists while failing to pursue cases involving attacks on pregnancy resource centers and religious institutions.

They also follow a particularly tough clash between the Trump administration and the Catholic Church, with the president attacking directly Pope Leo XIV and publishing in his Truth Social account an image that resembled him to a healing Jesus Christ.

Among those fired was veteran prosecutor Sanjay Patel, who had worked in the department's Civil Rights Division and had been placed on administrative leave before his termination, reported CBS News.

The move is part of a broader shake-up inside the Justice Department, where career attorneys involved in politically sensitive cases have increasingly faced scrutiny or removal. Critics say the firings risk undermining the independence of federal prosecutors and could signal a shift toward greater political influence over law enforcement decisions.

Legal experts and former officials have pushed back on the administration's claims, noting that many of the FACE Act prosecutions were upheld in court and were based on evidence of clinic blockades, threats, or physical obstruction. The law applies not only to abortion clinics but also to facilities and institutions targeted by violence or intimidation.

Advocates for abortion rights have also criticized the firings, arguing they could weaken enforcement of protections for patients and providers at a time when tensions around reproductive health access remain high.

The Justice Department's report, prepared by a so-called "Weaponization Working Group," is expected to play a central role in shaping future prosecutions and internal discipline. Officials have suggested that some of the lawyers named in the review could face further investigation or professional consequences.

The firings underscore a widening divide over abortion policy and the role of federal prosecutors, turning what were once routine enforcement decisions into a flashpoint in the nation's ongoing political and legal battles over reproductive rights.