News Reporter: A hero speaks

Friday, 17 July 2026

A hero speaks

Friend,

On Wednesday night, we heard a true hero speak.

In an exclusive livestream event, our CatholicVote Champions heard firsthand from pro-life champion, Mark Houck—the man the Biden administration’s Justice Department targeted for unjust punishment under the notorious Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (the FACE Act).

Calling the FACE Act a “law that was really generated to persecute pro-lifers who were doing rescue back in the late 80s, early 90s,” Mark noted in our conversation that the complete scope of the FACE Act is largely ignored, “They don't apply it across the board,” he said. “It should be to protect pro-lifers. It should protect churches and pregnancy resource centers, but it's not being applied that way.”

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In the course of a fascinating discussion with CatholicVote co-founder and Vice President of Advocacy, Josh Mercer, Mark recounted a story of persecution that sounds like the script from a fictional drama.

While praying at a Philadelphia abortion facility with his 12-year-old son, Mark was harassed by a facility volunteer who berated him for his activism. When the volunteer turned his foul-mouthed tirade on Mark’s son, Mark pushed the man away in fatherly protection.

Local law authorities saw no reason to bring charges against Mark. The facility volunteer brought a public criminal complaint that failed. The situation appeared to be history until the federal government saw an opportunity to make trouble for the pro-life movement in light of the then-impending Supreme Court Dobbs decision.

Click the image to see a clip from our exclusive interview with Mark Houck.

“They all knew what they were doing," Mark said. “They were building the case because they knew Dobbs was going to overturn Roe. And this was all the weaponization of the DOJ to come after pro lifers.”

It was a pure and very real case of intimidation.

Mark recalled thinking at the time, “I'm facing 11 years in prison with a government that has a 99% conviction rate. Likely, I'm going to prison.”

By the grace of God, Mark was fully acquitted and his family was spared the pain of seeing him unjustly imprisoned. What’s more, many in the pro-life movement who had begun to fear being similarly targeted saw the federal government fail in its petty attempt to make an example of Mark.

We’re very grateful to Mark for being so generous with his time. We also appreciate the kind words he had for CatholicVote's contribution to the pro-life movement:

“The piece CatholicVote handles for us is so critical. Right? It’s so important to be educated on the things that are happening locally, nationally, internationally, from a pro-life perspective….We need to have that information so that we can educate people on the street.”

If you’d like to become a CatholicVote Champion, support our mission monthly, and receive invitations to exclusives like our Mark Houck interview, visit us here.

Yours in Christ,

The CatholicVote Team

News Reporter

Friday, 17 July 2026

A hero speaks

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