ACCESS TO BIRTH CONTROL ACT

August 1, 2011 By

Following the release of an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report recommending that birth control be made available without co-pays because of its alleged importance for women’s preventive health care, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg introduced the Access to Birth Control Act (ABC) to prevent pharmacies from refusing to sell contraceptives based on conscientious objections due to an employee’s religious beliefs. It will require pharmacies to fill a valid prescription for contraceptives in a timely manner, and to provide what is characterized as “over-the-counter emergency contraception.” A news release by Rep. Maloney states that ABC “will stop pharmacists from infringing on the rights of individuals in this country by making pharmacy refusals illegal.”

The House version of the bill, H.R. 2259, currently has 14 cosponsors. The Senate version, S. 1415, currently has 12 cosponsors. Both were introduced July 26, 2010. This attack on the right to conscientious objection in the context of pharmacies, if successful, is but a preview of the attacks to come on the rights of conscience for all medical professionals. The bill can be read in full at the Library of Congress web site.

Action Item: Urge your Member of Congress and Senators to oppose the Access to Birth Control Act. You can contact your leaders through the Family Research Council’s online action page.

Reminder: LLDF’s seminar “Do No Harm,” which specifically addresses the legal implications of forcing pharmacists with conscientious objections to dispensing drugs harmful to human life will take place next month. Although this seminar focuses on the specific context of the pharmacy, the concepts discussed are analogous and transferable to other medical disciplines. The first presentation of this groundbreaking seminar on health care workers’ rights to conscientiously object to participating in specific medical practices will be presented on September 17, 2011. For details please visit LLDF’s website.

Filed Under: Main, Press Releases

TRIAL COURT DISMISSES ALL CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST PASTOR WALTER HOYE

November 15, 2010 By

LIFE LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION

P.O. Box 2105, Napa, California 94558 — (707) 224-6675

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Allison K. Aranda, Staff Counsel
(951) 541-9327

Oakland, Calif.: The Life Legal Defense Foundation announces that all criminal charges against Pastor Hoye have been dropped. Just three months ago, an appellate court overturned Pastor Walter Hoye’s criminal conviction for violating Oakland’s “Mother May I” law restricting sidewalk counseling. In a jury trial in 2009, Hoye was found guilty of two counts of unlawfully approaching women seeking abortions at an Oakland abortion clinic; the court sentenced him to 30 days in jail and an $1100 fine.

Hoye was represented by LLDF attorneys Katie Short and Allison Aranda and volunteer attorney Michael Millen.

In its published opinion, the Appellate Division of the Alameda Superior Court agreed with Hoye’s attorneys that the trial court had erred and granted Hoye a new trial. The case was remitted back to the trial court on September 24, 2010. The law requires that Hoye be brought to trial within thirty days of that date. When the time lapsed, Millen asked the court to dismiss the case. The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office concurred with Millen’s evaluation of the case and the court promptly ordered all charges against Hoye dismissed.

“We are pleased that Pastor Hoye is no longer under threat of further prosecution on these charges,” said Katie Short, Legal Director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. Short went on to state, “This is only one side of the battle, however. We now await the Ninth Circuit’s decision on our constitutional challenge to the ordinance under which he was prosecuted.” A decision in the federal case is expected in the next few months.

In the meantime, Hoye is overjoyed by this turn of events as he celebrates his freedom once again. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best in his letter from a Birmingham jail dated April 16, 1963, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” While the injustice of Hoye’s arrest and imprisonment are now over, the fight to save the lives of innocent children is not. Hoye looks forward to this long-awaited opportunity to return to the public sidewalk outside the Oakland clinic to share his life-saving message.

Life Legal Defense Foundation is a non-profit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens, committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation.

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SETTLEMENT REACHED IN PRO-LIFE ACTIVISTS’ SUIT AGAINST CITY OF BIRMINGHAM

November 10, 2010 By
LIFE LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION
P.O. Box 2105, Napa, California 94558 — 707.224.6675
NEWS RELEASE November 10, 2010
Contact: Allison K. Aranda, Staff Counsel
(951) 541-9327


Birmingham, Ala.: Life Legal Defense Foundation today announced the settlement of the federal civil rights action it filed last June against the city of Birmingham, Alabama, on behalf of a group of young pro-life activists. The settlement includes payment to plaintiffs for both monetary damages and their attorneys’ fees.

The suit, filed in early June, arose from an incident in February 2009, when nine members of the Survivors (survivors.la), based in Riverside, California, were arrested and jailed overnight for displaying pro-life signs and handing out literature on a public sidewalk outside a high school in Birmingham. Rather than investigating the incident and admitting that the police had violated the Survivors’ rights, the city later filed misdemeanor trespass charges against them. These criminal charges were only dismissed after the federal lawsuit was filed.

In the course of seeking injunctive relief against future interference with the Survivors’ right to engage in picketing and leafleting on the public sidewalk, LLDF lawyers learned that the city had a “demonstration” ordinance that required groups as small as two persons to obtain permits before engaging in various free speech activity.

“What started as a lawsuit to get fair treatment for the Survivors evolved into a broader challenge to the city’s unconstitutional permit scheme,” said Katie Short, legal director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation. “We learned from local pro-lifers that this law had been a thorn in their side for years. We are pleased that this suit not only vindicated the Survivors’ rights, but also relieved the local pro-life community of the burden of this onerous law.”

The Survivors were represented by LLDF attorneys Katie Short and Allison Aranda, as well as by local counsel Phillip Jauregui and Caroline Allen of Jauregui & Lindsey in Birmingham. The case was Turn the Hearts v. City of Birmingham, No. 2:10-CV-01477-LSC.

Life Legal Defense Foundation is a non-profit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens, committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation.

Filed Under: Main, Press Releases Tagged With:

ATTEMPTS BY ABORTION CLINIC TO STOP PRAYER AND PRO-LIFE SPEECH ON PUBLIC SIDEWALK FOILED

October 25, 2010 By

LIFE LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION

P.O. Box 2105, Napa, California 94558 — (707) 224-6675

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Dana Cody, Executive Director
(707) 337-6889

Birmingham, Ala.: On Friday, October 22, 2010, Circuit Court Judge Edward Ramsey for the 10th Judicial District of Jefferson County, Alabama, issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting the Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust, their founder, Jeff White, and others, from engaging in constitutionally protected activity on the public sidewalk surrounding the New Woman, All Women abortion clinic (NWAWAC) in Birmingham, Alabama. Prohibited activities included prayer, holding signs and oral communication with any other person.

The order was issued without notice to White and others based on allegations that they failed to comply with a decades-old injunction issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. However, there was no failure to comply because the injunction did not apply to Mr. White or the Survivors.

Even though NWAWAC was aware the federal injunction was not enforceable against White or the Survivors, NWAWAC circumvented the district court by obtaining an order from Judge Ramsey of the circuit court. Because there was no notice and no opportunity for White and others to be heard, Judge Ramsey was unaware of the procedural history of the federal case at the time the order was issued.

When Mr. White learned of the TRO, a hearing was immediately sought before Judge Ramsey by Birmingham attorney Trenton Garmon on White’s behalf, with a request that the order be dissolved. At the end of the business day Judge Ramsey told Garmon that the order would not be set aside and that Mr. Garmon would have to return on Monday, October 25, 2010, for a hearing on whether the order should be dissolved.

The injustice of the TRO is readily apparent — earlier the day the order issued Survivors witnessed two women leave the clinic based on information given to them from the public sidewalk. If pro-lifers are not allowed on the sidewalk lives will be lost to abortion.

This morning the hearing was held and the TRO dissolved. “Just as the prophet Elijah sent a message to King Ahab we are sending one to NWAWAC — Mr. White and Survivor’s are standing their ground. This is America, pro-life citizens have the right to stand on the public sidewalk and freely speak in opposition to abortion, and they will!” says Attorney Garmon.

Life Legal Defense Foundation was established in 1989, and is a non-profit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens, committed to the sanctity of human life. Life Legal routinely defends Mr. White and the Survivors and will fund Mr. Garmon’s work on their behalf. For more information call Dana Cody, (707) 337-6889.

Filed Under: Main, Press Releases

HOYE: NINTH CIRCUIT PANEL OPENLY SKEPTICAL OF OAKLAND’S ABORTION-FRIENDLY LAW

October 11, 2010 By

LIFE LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION

P.O. Box 2105, Napa, California 94558 — (707) 224-6675

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Katie Short, Legal Director
(707) 224-6675

Lawyers for the City of Oakland encountered tough questioning from Ninth Circuit justices Marsha Berzon and Stephen Reinhardt during oral argument on Pastor Walter Hoye’s challenge to the constitutionality of the City’s “Mother May I” law restricting sidewalk counseling. The City’s forthright admission that the City interpreted the law as not applying to clinic escorts “facilitating access” to abortion clinics met with raised eyebrows. But the City’s further suggestion that the law didn’t apply to anything but speech intended to discourage women from having abortions brought sharp rebukes from the justices.

LLDF Legal Director Katie Short and volunteer attorney Michael Millen filed suit on Pastor Hoye’s behalf immediately after the law’s passage in December 2007. The lawsuit challenged several aspects of the ordinance as unconstitutional, including its preference for pro-abortion speech over pro-life speech. The suit also alleged that the active interference and blocking by clinic escorts turned the law’s 8-foot “buffer” around patients into an insurmountable barrier to communication.

In August 2009, federal district judge Charles Breyer granted summary judgment for the City and dismissed the case. LLDF appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and in an hour-long hearing on October 8, the court heard arguments from both sides. Click here to download an audio-recording of the arguments.

“Katie Short did a great job of presenting our case,” said Millen, “but it was the City’s own admission of its true intentions that should make the justices’ jobs very easy. Under the guise of ‘facilitating access’, the City gave carte blanche to any speech that encourages women to go into clinics, while punishing speech that merely suggested alternatives to abortion.”

The City went so far as to say that even leaflets that were distributed outside the clinic would need to be reviewed by police to determine if the law was being violated or not. “You just won’t find a clearer textbook example of forbidden content-based discrimination than that,” added Millen.

A written decision from the Court of Appeals is expected in a matter of months.

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UPDATE: TAXPAYER-FUNDED ESCR CONTROVERSY CONTINUES

September 28, 2010 By

On September 28, 2010, a three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Washington D.C. Circuit reversed the preliminary injunction issued by Judge Royce Lamberth on August 23, 2010 which halted federal funding for embryo-destructive research. https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2009cv1575-44. See also http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/28/appeals-court-oks-federally-funded-stem-cell-research/.

The American people do not want to pay for embryo-destructive research— A Rasmussen Poll released on Friday August 27, 2010, reveals that “only 33% of U.S. voters believe that taxpayer money should be spent on embryonic stem cell research” and 57% of those polled OPPOSE taxpayer funding for controversial stem cell research that requires destruction of human embryos. The poll demonstrates that while American’s are less likely to believe embryo-destructive research is morally wrong, a majority oppose federal funding for the research.

While the decision is disappointing, and should the Congress let the court finish the case before acting as has been threatened, Judge Lamberth could decide the entire case this fall.

Filed Under: Main, Press Releases

LESSONS FROM CALIFORNIA ON TAXPAYER FUNDING OF HUMAN EMBRYO RESEARCH

September 1, 2010 By

LIFE LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION

P.O. Box 2105, Napa, California 94558 — (707) 224-6675

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Dana Cody, Executive Director
(707) 337-6889

NAPA, Calif.: Life Legal Defense Foundation, who in 2005 initiated the lawsuitPeople’s Advocate v. ICOC, challenging the constitutionality of the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to fund human embryonic stem cell research (HESCR), today warned not to fall for the same rhetoric being heard from the proponents of federal funding for embryo-destructive research. LLDF makes this warning after yesterday’s request by the Obama administration before the judge—who halted the illegal funding—to allow this funding to continue while the decision is appealed. The recent decision halting funding is available athttps://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2009cv1575-44.

CIRM was established by voter initiative in California due in large part to proponents’ promises of cures for all Californians resulting from HESCR. To date, CIRM, or for that matter any HESCR research, has produced no cures or therapies while over 70 therapies from non-controversial and life-affirming cord blood and adult stem cell research have resulted in numerous therapies for various diseases. [http://stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm].

In spite of the absolute failure of HESCR and a Rasmussen Poll released on Friday, August 27, 2010, that revealed “only 33% of U.S. voters believe that taxpayer money should be spent on embryonic stem cell research” and 57% of those polled OPPOSE taxpayer funding for controversial stem cell research that requires destruction of human embryos, it looks like Congress will consider legislation to approve taxpayer funding for embryo-destructive research when the House reconvenes in September.

H.R. 4808 [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=105_cong_bills&docid=f:h4808ih.txt.pdf], the legislation most recently introduced by Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), has broader consequences than legislation passed by the House in prior Congresses. Pro-Life leaders oppose H.R. 4808 because it directs federal funds to embryo-destructive research and unlike prior bills passed by Congress, provides a basis for taxpayer funding for research on stem cells taken from cloned embryos and embryos created solely for the purpose of destruction.

Perhaps Americans who oppose federal funding of embryo-destructive research have watched the waste of taxpayer funds in California appropriated to CIRM. CIRM funding has been used largely for kingdom building among HESCR proponents. Funds have also been used to advance HESCR rhetoric by characterizing it as science education in government schools and colleges. An analysis of how CIRM has spent millions of dollars of the California taxpayers’ hard-earned cash under the guise of “cures for all” that proponents promised would result from embryo destructive research is available.

Life Legal Defense Foundation was established in 1989, and is a non-profit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens, committed to the sanctity of human life. For more information, call Dana Cody at 707.337.6889.

Filed Under: Main, Press Releases

INFORMATION ABOUT AND LINKS FOR SHERLEY V. SEBELIUS

August 24, 2010 By

On August 23, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued apreliminary injunction in the case Sherley v. Sebelius, ruling that there is sufficient evidence to warrant halting funding for embryo-destructive research while the case is under consideration. Specifically, the court found that the plaintiffs presented a strong case that NIH Guidelines for Embryonic Stem Cell Research (ESCR) violate the Dickey-Wicker Amendment—language attached to the annual LHHS appropriations bills since 1996, which prohibits federal funding for “research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death. . .”

Background
In 2001 President Bush established a policy allowing research on embryonic stem cell lines created prior to August 9, 2001. On March 9, 2009, President Obama issued anexecutive order overturning the Bush policy and allowing taxpayer funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines created after 2001. (NIH Guidelines were finalized on July 7, 2009)

Sherley v. Sebelius
The injunction puts National Institutes of Health funding for embryo-destructive research on hold. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth in his ruling stated “[Embryonic stem cell] research is clearly research in which an embryo is destroyed,“ and “Congress has spoken to the precise question at issue—whether federal funds may be used for research in which an embryo is destroyed. The Dickey-Wicker Amendment provides that no federal funds shall be used for ‘research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under 45 C.F.R. § 46.204(b) and section 498(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289g(b)).’ Pub. L. No. 111-8, § 509(a)(2). Thus, as demonstrated by the plain language of the statute, the unambiguous intent of Congress is to prohibit the expenditure of federal funds on ‘research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed.’” (pp. 10, 12) (emphasis added)
The Court Order> states the Federal government is “enjoined from implementing, applying, or taking any action whatsoever pursuant to the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research, 74 Fed. Reg. 32,170 (July 7, 2009), or otherwise funding research involving human embryonic stem cells as contemplated in the Guidelines.” This is an ongoing case that will involve additional actions but the court has put a stop to NIH funding of embryo-destructive research pending the outcome of Sherley v. Sebelius.

Information Regarding Research Involving Stem Cells
On Friday July 30, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration lifted a hold it had placed on a Geron Corp embryonic stem cell trial for treatment of spinal cord injury. This is the first FDA-approved trial involving embryo-destructive stem cell research in humans. However, there are no published reports indicating whether the trial is yet underway. You may be aware that adult stem cell treatments are already producing results addressing spinal cord injury and over 70 other diseases and disabilities. In addition, adult stem cell research continues to out-perform embryonic stem cell research according to a recent AP article entitled Adult Stem Cell Research Far Ahead of Embryonic (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3D128923763&ft=3D1&f=3D1003). You may also be interested in seeing information about other breakthroughs in ethical adult stem cells here: Stem Cell Research Facts.

Legislation
Members of Congress may wish to co-sponsor the following bills related to stem cell research:
Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2009 (H.R. 1050)—by Reps. Bart Stupak (D-Mich) and Zach Wamp (R-TN) would ban creating cloned embryos by somatic cell nuclear transfer. The Stupak/Wamp bill is a total ban on human cloning. List of current co-sponsors.
Patients First Act of 2009 ( — H.R. 877)—by Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill) and Randy Forbes (R-Va) prioritizes stem cell research toward treating and curing patients, by promoting research and human clinical trials using adult stem cells that show the most potential of providing clinical benefit and are ethically obtained. List of current co-sponsors.
Pro-Life leaders oppose the Stem Cell Research Advancement Act (H.R. 4808 by Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo) and Mike Castle (R-Del) because it directs federal funds to embryo-destructive research and authorizes policies that are more expansive than current NIH guidelines and are more expansive than any embryo-destructive research bill approved by the Congress so far. Unlike prior bills considered by the Congress, H.R. 4808 provides a basis for research on stem cells taken from cloned embryos and embryos created solely for the purpose of destruction. (Pro-Life leaders also oppose H.R. 873 and H.R. 872 which also permit embryo-destructive research)

News reports indicate that later this week the Obama administration plans to appeal the recent preliminary injunction in the case Sherley v. Sebelius, which has halted government funding of embryo-destructive research. There are also reports that Senator Harkin plans to hold a legislative hearing responding to the decision on Thursday, September 16, 2010.

AP: Obama appeals stem cell ruling; some work to stop
AP: Stem cell ruling to be appealed, some work to stop
ABC News: Scientists Outraged By Block on Stem Cell Research
BBC News: White House to fight US court stem cell ruling
Boston Globe: Stem cell labs, dashed by ruling, may look again to private donors
Business Week: Sector Snap: Stem Cell stocks fall on court ruling
CBS News: Stem Cell Ruling Stops Federal Disease Studies
CNN: Government Will Appeal Stem Cell Funding Ruling
Huffington Post: Embryonic Stem Cell Funding Halted: Conservative Christian Groups Claim Victory
Lifenews.com: Obama Admin Will Appeal Ruling Against Forcing Embryonic Stem Cell Funding
Newsweek: Stem-Cell Research’s Controversial Past
NPR: Obama Administration To Appeal Stem-Cell Ruling
NPR: The Difference Between Embryonic, Adult Stem Cells
NY Times: Justice Dept. to Appeal Stem Cell Research Ruling
NY Times: Stem Cell Biology and Its Complication
NY Times: Stem Cell Ruling Will Be Appealed
NY Times: The Two Plaintiffs at Center of the Ban on Stem Cell Use
Politico: DOJ will appeal stem-cell ruling
Reuters: “Stunned” government to appeal stem-cell ruling
Reuters: Stem cell opponent has challenged authority before
Reuters: UPDATE 1-Obama administration to appeal stem cell injunction
USA Today: NIH scientists ‘stunned’ by judge’s stem cell ruling
USA Today: Our view on medical research: Embryonic stem cell ruling puts the onus on Congress
Washington Post: NIH cuts off stem cell funding after court order
Washington Post: Stem cell judge used to stirring things up Washington Post: All stem cell funding in jeopardy, NIH says
WSJ: U.S. to Freeze New Grants After Stem-Cell Decision
WSJ: What’s Next for Stem Cell Research?

Filed Under: In The Public Square, Main, Press Releases

LIFE LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION GETS LOITERING CHARGES AGAINST SIDEWALK COUNSELOR DISMISSED

August 23, 2010 By

LIFE LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION

P.O. Box 2105, Napa, California 94558 — (707) 224-6675

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:  Allison K. Aranda, Staff Counsel
(951) 541-9327

SAN MARCOS, Calif.: The San Marcos City Attorney’s office confirmed yesterday that it has dismissed all criminal charges against Elena Di Ventra that arose out of a loitering citation she received in May 2010. The sidewalk counselor was represented by Life Legal Defense Foundation staff attorney Allison K. Aranda.

Ms. Di Ventra was issued a citation for loitering after she walked into a parking lot adjacent to an abortion clinic to speak with a pregnant girl and offer her life saving information about her baby. The parking lot is open to the public and Ms. Di Ventra immediately returned to the sidewalk after her brief conversation with the girl. Despite all this, the police accused her of wandering idle about the property without an apparent reason to be present.

When the matter was brought to LLDF’s attention, Ms. Aranda contacted the San Marcos City Attorney’s Office and demanded that the meritless criminal charge be dropped at once. The City Attorney’s Office quickly reviewed the matter and agreed to dismiss the case. “We are grateful for a city attorney who respects the right to freely speak,” says Dana Cody, President and Executive Director of LLDF, “particularly since Ms. Di Ventra was facing a $3,870.00 fine in this case.”

Life Legal Defense Foundation is a non-profit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens, committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation.

Filed Under: In The Public Square, Main, Press Releases

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM OFFICIALS ARREST DEMONSTRATORS FOR HOLDING PRO-LIFE SIGNS ON THE PUBLIC CAMPUS

July 27, 2010 By
LIFE LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION
P.O. Box 2105, Napa, California 94558 — 707.224.6675
NEWS RELEASE July 27, 2010
Contact: Allison K. Aranda, Staff Counsel
(951) 541-9327

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.: The Survivors (http://survivors.la) returned to the streets of Birmingham last Thursday to participate in a series of pro-life events over the past few days. A consent agreement reached between the City and the group ensured that Birmingham city police would not interfere with the expressive activities of the pro-life youth group. The City abided by its agreement, and the Survivors were able to educate the public and show the truth about abortion.

Sadly, this constitutional victory has been overshadowed by the unwarranted arrest of two of the Survivors at the University of Alabama (UAB), on Monday. UAB administrators ordered the young people off of the campus claiming that the public university was actually “private property.” When Kristina Garza, Survivors’ new Campus Life Tour director, asked the UAB administrator what right he had to order the group off of public property, the UAB official refused to speak with Garza and would not even provide his name.

UAB police responded to the call by administrators and within two minutes arrested the two activists for failing to heed the unreasonable demand to leave the campus and for videotaping the incident. LLDF attorneys made several calls to UAB’s general counsel. Within a few hours, the young people were released from jail with no criminal charges.

LLDF Executive Director Dana Cody commented on the recent arrests, “While we are pleased that the University of Alabama police have released the two pro-life demonstrators, there is clearly more work to be done in Birmingham.” Ms. Cody went on to state that, “We will be working to ensure that the University of Alabama follows in the steps of the City of Birmingham and allows these young people to peacefully exercise their free speech rights on the public campus when the Survivors’ Campus Life Tour returns to Birmingham this Fall.”

Life Legal Defense Foundation is a non-profit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens, committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation. For more information call Allison K. Aranda at 951-541-9327.

Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With:
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