Pro-Life Today | 08 October 2008
Your National Daily News Wrap from American Life League! American Life League is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or media inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at kwalker@all.org.
HEADLINES
Ruling reversed in student's abortion protest
http://www.detnews.com/apps/
The Detroit News
A Monroe middle school did not violate a student's free speech rights when it prohibited him from distributing anti-abortion leaflets in school hallways, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling by a federal judge in Detroit who had issued an injunction stopping Jefferson Middle School authorities from interfering with the First Amendment rights of an eighth-grade student and awarded the student nominal damages of $1. The appeals court ruled the school did not bar the student's freedom of expression but merely regulated it. "The school district ... is entitled to put time, place, and manner restrictions on hallway speech so long as the restrictions are viewpoint neutral and reasonable," the court said. Byron Babione, a lawyer with the Alliance Defense Fund, which defends religious speech and represented the student, said he is considering an appeal. "The student in this case was censored because of his pro-life message," Babione said. The 2007 lawsuit was filed by Michael's parents after the 14-year-old participated in a "Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity," organized by the national group Stand True in October 2006.
Colorado governor opposes abortion amendment
http://www.examiner.com/a-
The Examiner
Colorado's pro-life governor is asking voters to reject a constitutional amendment on this fall's ballot that could end abortion rights. Democrat Gov. Bill Ritter announced Tuesday that he opposes Amendment 48, a first-in-the-nation measure that would change the state's constitution to declare that a fertilized egg is a person. "I do believe it is bad policy, bad medicine and bad law," Ritter said. Ritter is "personally opposed" to abortion except in case of rape, incest or medical emergency, but he sided with the Colorado Bar Association and the Colorado Medical Society on Amendment 48, saying "it would create a legal nightmare."
Ohio Supreme Court hears arguments over juvenile abortion records
http://www.dispatch.com/live/
The Columbus Dispatch
When a 14-year-old girl showed up at a Cincinnati abortion clinic in 2004 accompanied by a 21-year-old who was not her relative, clinic officials should have suspected statutory rape, an attorney for the girl's parents told the Ohio Supreme Court. Instead, Planned Parenthood performed the abortion without alerting the girl's parents or the authorities. The girl's parents are suing Planned Parenthood, alleging that the nonprofit organization has systematically ignored evidence of abuse against girls who visit Planned Parenthood's 37 Ohio clinics for abortions. The case took a detour from the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas to the Ohio Supreme Court to decide one issue: Should Planned Parenthood be compelled to turn over medical records albeit with names left out -- for dozens of other girls who may have been victimized?
