Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 423. Section 423.
This title shall be known and may be cited as the California Freedom of Access to Clinic and Church Entrances Act, or the California FACE Act.
TITLE 11.7. CALIFORNIA FREEDOM OF ACCESS TO CLINIC AND CHURCH ENTRANCES ACT [423. - 423.6.]
Cal. Penal Code - PEN 1.
in effectCal. Penal Code - PEN § 423.1. Section 423.1.
The following definitions apply for the purposes of this title:
(a)
“Crime of violence” means an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another.
(b)
“Interfere with” means to restrict a person’s freedom of movement.
(c)
“Intimidate” means to place a person in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm to themselves or to another.
(d)
“Nonviolent” means conduct that would not constitute a crime of violence.
(e)
“Physical obstruction” means rendering ingress to or egress from a reproductive health services facility or to or from a place of religious worship impassable to another person, or rendering passage to or from a reproductive health services facility or a place of religious worship unreasonably difficult or hazardous to another person.
(f)
“Reproductive health services” means reproductive health services provided in a hospital, clinic, physician’s office, or other facility and includes medical, surgical, counseling, or referral services relating to the human reproductive system, including services relating to pregnancy or the termination of a pregnancy.
(g)
“Reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant” means a person or entity, including, but not limited to, employees, staff, volunteers, and third-party vendors, that is or was involved in
obtaining, seeking to obtain, providing, seeking to provide, or assisting or seeking to assist another person, at that other person’s request, to obtain or provide services in a reproductive health services facility, or a person or entity that is or was involved in owning or operating or seeking to own or operate, a reproductive health services facility.
(h)
“Reproductive health services facility” includes a hospital, clinic, physician’s office, or other facility that provides or seeks to provide reproductive health services and includes the building or structure in which the facility is located.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 423.2. Section 423.2.
Every person who, except a parent or guardian acting towards their minor child or ward, commits any of the following acts shall be subject to the punishment specified in Section 423.3.
(a)
By force, threat of force, or physical obstruction that is a crime of violence, intentionally injures, intimidates, interferes with, or attempts to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, any person or entity because that person or entity is a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant, or in order to intimidate a person or entity, or a class of persons or entities, or from becoming or remaining a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant.
(b)
By force, threat of
force, or physical obstruction that is a crime of violence, intentionally injures, intimidates, interferes with, or attempts to injure, intimidate, or interfere with a person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.
(c)
By nonviolent physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with, or attempts to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, any person or entity because that person or entity is a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant, or in order to intimidate any person or entity, or any class of persons or entities, from becoming or remaining a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant.
(d)
By nonviolent physical obstruction, intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with, or attempts to injure, intimidate, or interfere with, a
person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.
(e)
Intentionally damages or destroys the property of a person, entity, or facility, or attempts to do so, because the person, entity, or facility is a reproductive health services patient, provider, assistant, or facility.
(f)
Intentionally damages or destroys the property of a place of religious worship.
(g)
Within 100 feet of the entrance to, or within, a reproductive health services facility, intentionally videotapes, films, photographs, or records by electronic means, a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant without that person’s consent with specific intent to intimidate the person from becoming or remaining a reproductive health services patient, provider, or
assistant, and thereby causes the person to be intimidated.
(h)
In any manner or forum, including, but not limited to, internet websites and social media, intentionally discloses or distributes a videotape, film, photograph, or recording knowing it was obtained in violation of subdivision (g) with the specific intent to intimidate the person from becoming or remaining a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant, and thereby causes the person to be intimidated. For purposes of this subdivision, “social media” means an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos or still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or internet website profiles or locations.
(i)
Subdivisions (g) and (h) do not apply to a person described in subdivision (b) of Section 2 of
Article I of the California Constitution.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 423.3. Section 423.3.
(a)
A first violation of subdivision (c), (d), (g), or (h) of Section 423.2 is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year, or a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by
both that fine and imprisonment.
(b)
A second or subsequent violation of subdivision (c), (d), (g), or (h) of Section 423.2 is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or a fine not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c)
A first violation of subdivision (e) or (f) of Section 423.2 is a felony, punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or a fine not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d)
A first violation of subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 423.2 is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year,
or a fine not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(e)
A second or subsequent violation of subdivision (a), (b), (e), or (f) of Section 423.2 is a felony, punishable by imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or a fine not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(f)
In imposing fines pursuant to this section, the court shall consider applicable factors in aggravation and mitigation set out in Rules 4.421 and 4.423 of the California Rules of Court, and shall consider a prior violation of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 248), or a prior violation of a statute of another jurisdiction that would constitute a violation of Section 423.2 or of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994, to be a prior violation of Section 423.2.
(g)
This title establishes concurrent state jurisdiction over conduct that is also prohibited by
the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 248), which provides for misdemeanor penalties for first violations and felony-misdemeanor penalties for second and subsequent violations. State law enforcement agencies and prosecutors shall cooperate with federal authorities in the prevention, apprehension, and prosecution of these crimes, and shall seek federal prosecutions when appropriate.
(h)
No person shall be convicted under this article for conduct in violation of Section 423.2 that was done on a particular occasion where the identical conduct on that occasion was the basis for a conviction of that person under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 248).
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 423.4. Section 423.4.
(a)
A person aggrieved by a violation of Section 423.2 may bring a civil action to enjoin the violation, for compensatory and punitive damages, and for the costs of suit and reasonable fees for attorneys and expert witnesses, except that only a reproductive health services client, provider, or assistant may bring an action under subdivision (a), (c), or (e) of Section 423.2, and only a person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom in a place of religious worship, or the entity that owns or operates a place of religious worship, may bring an action under subdivision (b), (d), or (f) of Section 423.2. With respect to compensatory damages, the plaintiff may elect, at any time prior to the rendering of a final judgment, to recover, in lieu of actual damages, an award of statutory damages in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per exclusively nonviolent violation, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) per any other violation, for each violation committed.
(b)
The Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney may bring a civil action to enjoin a violation of Section 423.2, for compensatory damages to persons aggrieved as described in subdivision (a) and for the assessment of a civil penalty against each respondent. The civil penalty shall not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) for an exclusively nonviolent first violation, and fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) for any other first violation, and shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for an exclusively nonviolent subsequent violation, and twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for any other subsequent violation. In imposing civil penalties pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall consider a prior violation of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 248), or a prior violation of a statute of another jurisdiction that would constitute a violation of Section 423.2 or the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994, to be a prior violation of Section 423.2.
(c)
No person shall be found liable under this section for conduct in violation of Section 423.2 done on a particular occasion where the identical conduct on that occasion was the basis for a finding of liability by that person under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 248).
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 423.5. Section 423.5.
(a)
(1)
The court in which a criminal or civil proceeding is filed for a violation of subdivision (a), (c), or (e) of Section 423.2 shall take all action reasonably required, including granting restraining orders, to safeguard the health, safety, or privacy of either of the following:
(A)
A reproductive health services client, provider, or assistant who is a party or witness in the proceeding.
(B)
A person who is a victim of, or at risk of becoming a victim of, conduct prohibited by subdivision (a), (c), or (e) of Section 423.2.
(2)
The court in which a criminal or civil proceeding is filed for a violation of subdivision (b), (d), or (f) of Section 423.2 shall take all action reasonably required, including granting restraining orders, to safeguard the health, safety, or privacy of either of the following:
(A)
A person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship.
(B)
An entity that owns or operates a place of religious worship.
(b)
Restraining orders issued pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) may include provisions prohibiting or restricting the photographing of persons described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) when reasonably required to safeguard the health, safety, or privacy of those persons. Restraining orders issued pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) may include provisions prohibiting or restricting the photographing of persons described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) when reasonably required to safeguard the health, safety, or privacy of those persons.
(c)
A court may, in its discretion, permit an individual described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) to use a pseudonym in a civil proceeding described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) when reasonably required to safeguard the health, safety, or privacy of those persons. A court may, in its discretion, permit an individual described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) to use a pseudonym in a civil proceeding described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) when reasonably required to safeguard the health, safety, or privacy of those persons.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 423.6. Section 423.6.
This title shall not be construed for any of the following purposes:
(a)
To impair any constitutionally protected activity, or any activity protected by the laws of California or of the United States of America.
(b)
To provide exclusive civil or criminal remedies or to preempt or to preclude any county, city, or city and county from passing any law to provide a remedy for the commission of any of the acts prohibited by this title or to make any of those acts a crime.
(c)
To interfere with the enforcement of any federal, state, or local laws regulating the performance of abortions or the provision of other reproductive health services.
(d)
To negate, supercede, or otherwise interfere with the operation of any provision of Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1138) of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.
(e)
To create additional civil or criminal remedies or to limit any existing civil or criminal remedies to redress an activity that interferes with the exercise of any other rights protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or of Article I of the California Constitution.
(f)
To preclude prosecution under both this title and any other provision of law, except as provided in subdivision (g) of Section 423.3.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026