Pro-life activists are exposing New York Attorney General Letitia James for intimidation and suppression of free speech after the attorney general sued a pro-life group and asked the court to bar members from going within 30 feet of an abortion clinic.
Newsdesk (21/06/2023 20:30, Gaudium Press) In the lawsuit filed on June 8, 2023, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the pro-life advocates known as the Red Rose Rescue are being defended by attorneys from the Thomas More Society. They are facing charges brought by Attorney General Letitia James of New York, who alleges violations of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The advocates argue that their actions are protected under the First Amendment, as they were exercising their right to speak out against abortion.
The lawsuit claims that the peaceful sit-ins conducted by Fr. Fidelis (Christopher) Moscinski, Matthew Connolly, William Goodman, Laura Gies, John Hinshaw, and others at abortion facilities did not violate the FACE Act or New York Clinic Access Act. According to Thomas More Society Senior Counsel Christopher Ferrara, these laws are intended to prevent the use of force, threats of force, or physical obstruction to impede access to abortion facilities. The advocates assert that they were peacefully sitting with women who had already accessed the facilities and were in the waiting rooms, attempting to persuade them not to go through with the abortion procedure.
Thomas More Society Senior Counsel Stephen Crampton characterizes the charges as an overreach, arguing that peaceful sit-ins at abortion clinics should not be considered violations of laws meant to counter threats and obstruction. Crampton believes that the constitutional right to abortion, as established in the Roe v. Wade decision, was wrongly decided and has led to government overreach in cases like this.
The defendants in this case, according to Crampton, have engaged in quiet and non-violent acts of sitting in abortion clinic waiting rooms, offering roses to women considering abortion, and providing literature on alternatives to abortion. Crampton argues that these advocates are offering support to women who may be in distress and giving them an opportunity to reconsider their decision.
The attorney general of New York, Letitia James, has a history of pursuing prosecutions against pro-life advocates, as seen in previous cases involving a Brooklyn church. Crampton criticizes James for continuing to seek convictions based on alleged threats and violence towards abortion clients and providers, despite a lack of evidence and instances of false testimony in previous cases.
While Crampton acknowledges that the current lawsuit against Fr. Moscinski and others may seem pointless, he sees it as an opportunity to challenge the broader application of the FACE Act and its New York equivalent in order to protect constitutionally protected activity.
Ferrara reiterates the commitment of the Thomas More Society to aggressively defend the pro-life advocates against what they perceive as an abuse of the FACE Act and the New York Clinic Access Act.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from the Thomas More Society
