Court fight: Can state officials work with abortionists to censor pro-life speech?
A court fight has developed that ultimately will decide whether pro-abortion state officials “can team up with abortion activists” to censor the speech of those who don’t adhere to the ideology of killing the unborn.
“The state’s conduct is not just discriminatory – it’s unconstitutional,” explained the American Center for Law and Justice.
“This case remains one of the most important pro-life and free speech battles in the country. The outcome could set national precedent on whether state governments can team up with abortion activists to suppress the voices of those who offer women hope, help, and life.”
The ACLJ reported the fight focuses on a lawsuit filed on behalf of Your Options Medical, which is a pro-life pregnancy resource center run by Christians.
And it has been “targeted” by “a state-sponsored campaign to discredit and shut down life-affirming services for women.”
Defendants are Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, abortion promoters Reproductive Equity Now Foundation and its chief, Rebecca Hart-Holder.
“Their actions were nothing less than the weaponization of government,” the ACLJ has charged.
The state, with tax money, “launched an aggressive public misinformation campaign against pro-life pregnancy centers, accusing them of being ‘deceptive’ and ‘dangerous,’ and warned the public against visiting PRCs – even if they are not looking for abortions,” the report said.
The misleading claims were all over, on websites, in videos, on posters, on buses, on benches, and included areas adjacent to the resource center’s home.
A court recently rejected two separate motions by the defendants to dismiss the case, and instead is allowing the ACLJ to amend its complaint, which now will be expanded.
That’s because the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center, which also is working on the case, obtained documents, 8,000 pages, that confirm “a calculated effort by government officials, working hand-in-hand with pro-abortion activists, to silence and discredit Christian ministries that offer real alternatives to abortion.”
The report continued, “The evidence is clear – the state’s campaign wasn’t just political rhetoric or support for abortion. It was an organized effort to suppress the viewpoints of pro-life organizations and intimidate them into silence.”