Posted by Thomas More Society (August 26, 2010 at 10:39 am)
Check out this interview with TMS President and Chief Counsel Tom Brejcha that appeared on Focus on the Family’s Citizen Link program discussing the case of notorious abortionist Alberto Hodari in Michigan. Listen to the full interview here.
TMS is currently seeking disclosure of public records to find out why Hodari was not charged when human remains and confidential patient records were found in his dumpster. Read more on the case here.
Posted by Thomas More Society (August 3, 2010 at 4:36 pm)
For Immediate Release
Chicago—This afternoon, in a wake of national interest in the case, the Thomas More Society secured a dismissal of all charges against the first arrestee under the city’s “bubble zone” ordinance, which prevents certain types of picketing activity outside local abortion clinics. Joseph Holland, a Northwestern University graduate student, was arrested outside Planned Parenthood’s Near North Side facility on July 3 after the facility’s staff called the police and claimed he violated the ordinance by praying on the public sidewalk.
“We are pleased that the City of Chicago has dismissed these false and baseless charges against Joe Holland,” said Peter Breen, Thomas More Society executive director and legal counsel. “The First Amendment protects prayer on a public sidewalk in Chicago the same as in any other city in the country. We hope that the city will cease the suppression of pro-life speech under the ‘bubble zone’ ordinance and dismiss the lone remaining case, brought against David Avignone, who was arrested a few days after Joe.” [Continue reading ...]
Posted by Thomas More Society (August 3, 2010 at 1:42 pm)
Check out this great video of this morning’s interview on FOX & Friends with Thomas More Society Executive Director Peter Breen and Joe Holland, the grad student arrested for violating Chicago’s “Bubble Zone” ordinance.
Update: Fox news did a follow-up piece on this story that you can read here.
Peter and Joe were also on Moody Radio’s In the Market with Jane Parshall yesterday afternoon. You can hear that interview here. Just click the “Hour 1″ button to hear Peter and Joe’s segment.
Posted by Thomas More Society (August 2, 2010 at 11:06 am)
The story of graduate student Joe Holland, who was the first person arrested under the outrageous Chicago “Bubble Zone” ordinance, has caught the attention of the media. Today, the story made the front page on FoxNews.com! Today’s poll on the Fox News site also centers around Joe’s arrest. Be sure to stop by the site and cast your vote today.
In addition, Joe and TMS attorney Peter Breen will appear on Moody Radio this afternoon at 5:05 Eastern, 4:05 Central to discuss the arrest and the ordinance. Listen live at the Moody Radio Chicago website.
Then tomorrow morning at 5:20 a.m. Central, 6:20 a.m. Eastern, Joe and Peter will be on FOX & Friends, the Fox News morning show.
This is a fantastic opportunity for the public to see how ridiculous the Chicago “Bubble Zone” and its enforcement really are. Be sure to vote in the Fox News poll today, and don’t miss any of this great coverage today and tomorrow.
Posted by Thomas More Society (May 29, 2010 at 11:17 pm)
Chicago Tribune columnist Dennis Byrne has posted a great piece on his Barbershop blog about the decades long struggle to enforce the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act.
The law, which requires girls under 18 to notify at least one parent before procuring an abortion, passed with bi-partisan support in 1995 and has been under constant attack from the ACLU and the abortion lobby who have found every conceivable way of blocking the actual enforcement of the law.
Although the ACLU’s federal lawsuit, claiming the 1995 law violated the federal constitution was finally rejected last August, 2009, by the U.S. Court of Appeals at Chicago, the Illinois Medical Disciplinary agency (whose executive director has ties to Planned Parenthood) allowed a “grace period” for abortion providers to give them more time (after 14 years!) to get ready to comply with the law.
When a second grace period was voted down, the ACLU filed another lawsuit, this time in state court, claiming that the law violated the Illinois State Constitution. This claim, totally baseless, was assigned to Judge Daniel Riley who entered a restraining order (TRO) barring enforcement indefinitely. Although Judge Riley finally dismissed the suit as legally meritless late this past March, he continued his TRO in effect when the Attorney General’s offce—whose duty is to defend Illinois laws—advised him they would agree to continue the enforcement ban in effect indefinitely for the duration of the ACLU’s appeal!
Thomas More Society tried to intervene before Judge Riley for a third time on behalf of downstate county prosecutors, moving to set aside this outrageous ban on the enforcement of a legally valid, fully constitutional law. ACLU filed their appeal and Judge Riley ruled he had no jurisdiction to address the intervention motion. Now Thomas More Society lawyers have appealed the denials of intervention as well as Judge Riley’s refusal to hear their motion to overturn the “stay” so the law could go immediately into effect. Get more in Byrne’s excellent post linked below:
Posted by Thomas More Society (May 4, 2010 at 9:59 pm)
Monica Miller, head of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society in southeastern Michigan and herself one of the “ND88” whom Notre Dame had arrested for protesting the Obama Commencement at Notre Dame almost a year ago, conducted another, similar protest last Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the campus of the University of Michigan.
The occasion? It was the latest Commencement appearance by president Obama, this time at the University of Michigan’s 2010 Commencement.
Perhaps amazingly to some folks, these photos show that such protests can be conducted without arrests, jailing and prosecution of protesters—something that may come as a surprise to those guarding the gates at Notre Dame’s celebrated campus. [Continue reading ...]
Posted by Thomas More Society (March 16, 2010 at 10:26 am)
The case of a Catholic homeschooling group being persecuted by the Indiana state government over menu choices has made front page news in the Indianapolis Star.
The Fishers Adolescent Catholic Enrichment Society (FACES) got involved in an investigation conducted by the Indiana Civil Rights Commission over food choices offered at an event the group hosted.
Check out the full story at the Indianapolis Star’s website for more details.
Posted by Thomas More Society (March 11, 2010 at 11:25 pm)
Outside of Planned Parenthood on Lasalle and Division in downtown Chicago, a newsstand has stood vacant on the corner for quite some time.
The newsstand, owned by the city of Chicago, created a bit of an annoyance for pro-lifers since it took up a good bit of sidewalk real estate where sidewalk counselors and prayer partners could otherwise stand.
But the folks at Aid for Women pregnancy resource center turned the annoyance into a blessing when they purchased an ad on the side of the newsstand offering women alternatives to abortion right outside the clinic’s door.
But recently and with no notice, the newsstand was taken down by the city along with the ad, despite the fact that Aid for Women had contracted the ad through the beginning of May.
Many observing the situation have smelled something fishy about the situation, especially because the Planned Parenthood facility is located in the ward of Alderman Vi Daley—the alderman who sponsored the infamous Chicago “bubble zone” ordinance at Planned Parenthood’s request.
With that in view, Thomas More Society attorneys have filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for any and all documents the city has pertaining to the ad, the newsstand and their removal.
Read all about the story from the Pro-Life Action League, the Chicago Tribune’s Dennis Byrne and TMS’s FOIA request below.
Two critical TMS cases have been in the news this week. The dismissal of the disorderly conduct charges filed against Providence, Rhode Island Mayoral candidate Chris Young for speaking out against Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s pro-abortion stance was a tremendous victory for free speech and has caught the attention of both the local and national press.
Also, the case of an Indiana homeschooling group whose First Amendment rights are being violated by the state government which is attempting to micromanage the groups affairs with an iron fist has got the press talking in print and in new media outlets like the blogosphere.
Keep Up with the Latest News
Check out all the links below for more details on both cases and be sure to check back to the TMS blog often for the latest updates. For the most up to the minute news, sign up to receive e-mail alerts of breaking events on the upper left side of this website.
Posted by Thomas More Society (February 19, 2010 at 11:42 am)
Emboldened by recent action in Chicago, Rockford, Illinois recently sought to enact a bubble zone ordinance to restrict pro-life counseling and prayer outside the abortion facility in the town. After TMS attorneys conatacted the city council, the measure was tabled for two months.
The media has caught wind of this important free-speech case. Below is a sampling of the media coverage on this story.
Check out this interview with TMS President and Chief Counsel Tom Brejcha that appeared on Focus on the Family’s Citizen Link program discussing the case of notorious abortionist Alberto Hodari in Michigan. Listen to the full interview here.
Chicago—This afternoon, in a wake of national interest in the case, the Thomas More Society secured a dismissal of all charges against the first arrestee under the city’s “bubble zone” ordinance, which prevents certain types of picketing activity outside local abortion clinics. Joseph Holland, a Northwestern University graduate student, was arrested outside Planned Parenthood’s Near North Side facility on July 3 after the facility’s staff called the police and claimed he violated the ordinance by praying on the public sidewalk.
Chicago Tribune columnist Dennis Byrne has posted a great piece on his 
Monica Miller, head of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society in southeastern Michigan and herself one of the “
Outside of Planned Parenthood on Lasalle and Division in downtown Chicago, a newsstand has stood vacant on the corner for quite some time.
Two critical TMS cases have been in the news this week. The dismissal of the disorderly conduct charges filed against Providence, Rhode Island Mayoral candidate Chris Young for speaking out against Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s pro-abortion stance was a tremendous victory for free speech and has caught the attention of both the local and national press.
Also, the case of an Indiana homeschooling group whose First Amendment rights are being violated by the state government which is attempting to micromanage the groups affairs with an iron fist has got the press talking in print and in new media outlets like the blogosphere. 