Pro-life advocates at abortion clinics regularly risk arrest. The Independence Law Center is here to help.
Just this week, two cases litigated by the Independence Law Center on behalf of pro-life counselors ended with successful settlements. Ed Snell was arrested when he merely entered a public alley to hand literature to someone going to the abortion clinic in York, Pennsylvania. John McTernan was threatened with arrest to prevent him from walking to the side of the same alley with a pro-life sign.
As you know, victory isn’t easy. We lost both cases before the trial court. However, God’s blessings often come in disguise. Because of the losses at the trial level, we won huge victories before the Court of Appeals. That Court’s decisions not only helped Snell and McTernan, but made it easier for others to bring religious liberties claims and to prevent police from invoking off the cuff restrictions on pro-life counselors. Following those decisions, the cases were headed to trial, but the City backed down and agreed to settle.
We’re thrilled with this outcome because religiously motivated pro-life speech should not be stifled at the whim of hostile police officers. Our win not only vindicates our clients’ rights but, because of the court decisions, protects pro-life advocates far and wide.
The Independence Law Center’s Randall Wenger worked on this case with Dennis Boyle and Josh Autry at Boyle, Neblett & Wenger and with various attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund. If you are an attorney and wish to work together on cases like these or if your rights have been violated while trying to live out your faith, we would like to hear from you. You can reach us at 717-657-4990 or at rwenger@indlawcenter.org.
We are able to provide our services because of generous donations. To make a contribution for our ongoing work, please contact us by phone or on the web at http://independencelaw.org/support/.
