A Minnesota-based pro-life ministry won a legal victory against the city of Minneapolis earlier this month when the city amended an ordinance that had barred pro-life advocates from sidewalk counseling outside abortion facilities.
Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm representing Pro-Life Action Ministries, stated in a news release that attorneys secured entry of agreed judgments to settle the lawsuit Dec. 18. The agreed judgments give the pro-life organization “a full victory against the City of Minneapolis, on all claims made in their complaint, including nominal damages and attorney’s fees and costs, which will be determined by the court.”
Peter Breen, Thomas More Society’s executive vice president and head of litigation, stated in the release that the judgment is “a total victory against this sort of viewpoint discrimination.”
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“Minneapolis thought it could get away with targeting pro-life speech by creating an unconstitutional, content-based no-speech zone — crafted exclusively for the purpose of hamstringing pro-life sidewalk counseling efforts outside of the city’s Planned Parenthood abortion facility,” he stated, later adding that pro-life advocates can now “go about their life-saving efforts without fear or threat of penalties for sharing their life-saving message.”
The city amended the restrictive ordinance to protect the free speech rights of pro-life advocates and signed it into law Dec. 10. Prior to the lawsuit, the “buffer zone” ordinance had barred pro-life advocates from standing on the sidewalk that crosses the Planned Parenthood driveway to engage in sidewalk counseling and conversations with women seeking abortions.
Because the sidewalk outside the abortion facility is a public space, attorneys for Pro-Life Action Ministries argued that the ordinance unconstitutionally restricted the advocates’ rights to free speech, freedom of expressive association, and freedom of religious expression, according to the release. The updated city ordinance exempts organizations like Pro-Life Action Ministries or those engaging in constitutionally protected activities from abiding by the “buffer zone” around abortion facilities.
“With litigation settled and the city’s buffer zone ordinance amended, pro-life sidewalk counselors in Minneapolis are again free to share their message of hope with abortion-minded women,” the release stated.
Pro-Life Action Ministries CEO Brian Gibson called the decision a “win for the unborn babies.”
“Having our rights restored will increase the possibility to help women and save more babies from abortion,” he added in the release. “Other cities need to take note to never simply do Planned Parenthood’s bidding and interfere with citizens’ Constitutional rights.”
LifeNews Note: Hannah Hiester writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
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