An Example of Courage Under Fire
Praying. Protecting your son. Helping women in crisis.
These are now actionable offenses under the brave new world in which our Department of Justice operates. My friend and fellow Catholic University alum Mark Houck was recently acquitted in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on charges stemming from these “offenses.” These are now considered federal criminal acts under Merrick Garland’s tortured interpretation of the Freedom of Access to Clinics (“FACE”) Act. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe through last June’s Dobbs decision, the Biden Administration vowed to restore “women’s health access” through abortion. While not enforcing the law of the land is a curious exercise of executive power, we now know that at least they were not bluffing.
While its consequences are mind-boggling, the actual incident giving rise to the trial was simple enough. Approximately a year and a half ago Mark Houck was observing his weekly vigil outside the Planned Parenthood center at 12th and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, praying the rosary and passing leaflets to women approaching the facility. One of the center’s “escorts,” Bruce Love, took it upon himself to leave its grounds, bypass his ostensible clients and intimidate both Mark and his son, Mark Jr. Despite violating the clinic’s own policies prohibiting contact with protestors, Mr. Love’s harassment continued unabated, resulting in Mark pushing him to the sidewalk. Mr. Love subsequently filed a private criminal complaint against Mark which was later dismissed under bizarre circumstances. This did not stop the DOJ from authorizing an armed predawn raid of Mark’s Kintnersville home last September, resulting in his arrest in front of his wife and seven children. This was despite the fact that Mark’s attorney had previously informed the US Attorney’s office that his client would peacefully surrender should they intend to prosecute – 6 months after Dobbs dropped. Coincidence?
The ensuing trial at the end of January was just as dystopic. As I sat in court, I marveled that tax dollars were fashioning a literal federal trial out of what was at most a simple assault. While the FACE Act was itself a largely cosmetic holdover from the Clinton era, it aims to protect pregnant women from their purported “harassment” by abortion protestors. It was never intended to protect escorts and certainly does not license those same escorts to harass protestors or their children. One of the most surreal moments at trial came from a fellow escort who saw the push. She attested to her “fear” regarding the “violence” she had witnessed. Apparently she was not familiar with the practices of the facility at which she volunteered.
In many ways we can all relate to the spiritual agony Mark underwent – being pilloried for doing what is right, facing the charges of a hateful mob and recognizing the dissonance between God’s law and man’s. As a fellow worker in this vital mission I can only hope to emulate his example in the work before me, at a time where the pro-life message has never been the object of more blind, insensate rage. In the same way, I urge all chapter leaders and members to draw inspiration from Mark’s example. One person can truly make a difference in this great fight. Dobbs has cleared the way for us to follow in his footsteps across our great Commonwealth. From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, from Scranton to Erie, let us pick up the torch and never lose faith in this great spiritual, political and human battle!
