Federal Lawsuit Filed Over N.J. High School's Decision To Bar Student From Joining Antiabortion-Rights Protest

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 20 Nov 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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A New Jersey public high school student last week filed a federal lawsuit alleging that her free-speech and religious-freedom rights were violated when her school's administrators prohibited her from participating in an antiabortion-rights protest last month, the AP/Google News reports.

According to the lawsuit, Bridgeton High School's principal denied the student the opportunity to join the annual silent protest organized by the Stand True ministry because it was "religious." A lawyer hired by the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal group that pursues religious freedom cases on behalf of Christians, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J. The student said that she had planned to stay silent all day -- except when prompted to speak in class -- wear an armband with the word "life" and distribute antiabortion pamphlets. The student is seeking a court order allowing her to conduct the protest.

Superintendent Victor Gilson said that he has not seen the lawsuit but that the student's request was blocked because the armband would violate the school's dress code. He added that students and staff are banned from distributing literature without prior approval, a policy to guard against lawsuits similar to the student's.

According to ADF senior counsel David Cortman, the group has intervened in dozens of cases nationwide during the six years that the worldwide Pro Life Day of Silence and Solidarity has occurred. Of the 12 lawsuits ADF has filed concerning the protests, some have been successful and others are still pending, according to Cortman. ADF also has been notified about students barred from the protest in other schools in New Jersey, and schools in Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia (Mulvihill, AP/Google News, 11/17).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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