Birmingham, Alabama Officials Arrest Pro-Life Advocates, Violate Free Speech
Birmingham, AL (LifeNews.com) -- Local officials in the largest city in Alabama arrested a group of pro-life advocates who were sharing a message against abortion outside Parker High School. Nine college-aged participants in the Survivors Campus Life Tour were arrested on a public sidewalk while distributing literature to students Thursday. The group of pro-life youth activists quietly held signs, distributed literature and peacefully dialogued with students on the public sidewalk. Local officials threatened the pro-life advocates with arrest and they contact their attorneys, who informed them that their location on the public sidewalk and their free speech activity was legal according to local and state laws. Once the members of the pro-life team finished distributing their literature and were loading their van in preparation to leave, officers handcuffed and arrested all nine pro-life advocates without warning. One of the team members who did not assist in the distribution of literature was also arrested and handcuffed so tightly that it caused her to cry in pain. Ref. Source 5
Supreme Court Rules Pro-Life Group Can Defend Its Free Speech Rights
The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a pro-life women's group in a case regarding whether it has a First Amendment right to expose the pro-abortion records of political candidates.
The Susan B. Anthony List is petitioning the high court to allow their First Amendment challenge to Ohio's "false statement" law to proceed on the grounds that the statute empowers a state agency to determine what constitutes true or false political speech. Ref. Source 6