Could Prayer Become a Crime? - 8/25/26

A pro-life activist warned a New Jersey law could criminalize prayer outside abortion facilities. New Jersey Governor Mickey Sherrill, who calls herself Catholic, signed legislation August 20th creating criminal penalties for interfering with access to reproductive health care services. Catholic Votes' Mark Hawk told Fox News, this is nothing more than the FACE Act 2.0 at the state level. Mark, who joined Catholic Votes' development team in August, gained national attention in 2021 after a A confrontation with a volunteer escort outside of an abortion facility in Pennsylvania, where Hawk was praying with his 12-year-old son.

Mark pushed the escort after the man verbally harassed and intimidated his son. Mark says this new law in New Jersey will now be used against pro-lifers and people who have a deep degree of concern in their heart to come out and pray and help people. He said authorities could declare pro-life advocates as terrorists and subject them to harassment or intimidation for simply trying to help people get all the information that they need. Mark said that financial and emotional pressures drive 90% of abortion decisions.

In the last 20 plus years that I've been doing this, Mark said, we've had over 100 saves of babies, and I've held those babies in my arms. It's a fantastic thing. God bless you, Mark. Keep up the good work. Meanwhile, over at The Loop, Inez Cantor-Freedom was kicked out of a WNBA game while wearing a shirt defending girls' sports, and a Seattle Times writer resigned in protest after his column defending girls' sports was stifled. Today is the Feast of St. Louis IX of France, the French king who sought to place Christ at the center of his rule, embracing a life of prayer, justice, and generous care for the poor.

I'm Josh Mercer, editor of The Loop, taking you behind the headlines. Go to zeal.co for the rest of today's Loop, and while you're at it, subscribe to get The Loop in your inbox every morning. Again, that's zeal.co.