Supreme Court Upholds Right to Display Graphic Abortion Signs Thanks to CBRby Staff
January 27, 2009
WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a ruling by the 9th District Court of Appeals that said the graphic images of aborted babies displayed on vehicles and elsewhere are protected speech under the First Amendment.
The suit was filed by the Center for Bioethical Reform after two drivers of one of their large panel trucks were pulled over and detained for over an hour near a middle school in Southern California on the complaints by school officials that the truck was "disruptive." Police also searched the vehicle.
The court ruled that the police action in detaining the abortion display on the vehicle violated the drivers' rights to free speech and unreasonable search and seizure. The judges also said that "the government cannot silence messages simply because they cause discomfort, fear, or even anger."
The ruling will benefit all pro-life organizations that conduct First Amendment activities, including Operation Rescue, which runs a fleet of ten Truth Trucks, similar to the one that was subject of the suit.
"We appreciate the work of the Center for Bioethical Reform and congratulate them and their attorneys with the Thomas More Law Center on this tremendous victory," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
"We know first-hand, with our Truth Truck ministry and other graphic outreaches, what it is like to have our message silenced and our rights denied. We owe CBR a debt of gratitude for persevering through this long and expensive legal battle. Because of them, we all enjoy a bit more freedom today."
About Operation Rescue®Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
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