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.

Related Links

• Pro-Life Sign Disappears—Pro-Life Action League
• Oh, no! Another disappearing act in Chicago—Chicago Tribune
• TMS FOIA Request to the City of Chicago

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.

News Coverage of the Chris Brown Dismissal

• Charge against Providence mayoral candidate dismissed—Providence Journal
• Disorderly Conduct Charges Dropped Against Christopher Young—ABC 6 News
• Charge dismissed against Kennedy protester—AP Newswire

News Coverage of the Indianapolis Homeschooling Case

• Lawsuit: Indiana Civil Rights Agency Violated Rights of Catholic Home Schooling Families—LifeSite News
• Suit Challenges State Civil Rights Agency Jurisdiction Over Small Religiously-Motivated Group—Religion Clause Blog
• Faith-based homeschoolers’ rights threatened in Hamilton County—Indianapolis Star

For Immediate Release

Providence, R.I. March 5, 2010—Attorneys from the Chicago-based Thomas More Society,on the eve of the trial, won a victory in Providence municipal court this week when the city prosecutor decided to dismiss criminal charges against Christopher Young. Young, a Catholic pro-lifer who is also a Democratic mayoral candidate, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after confronting Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) about his abortion views at an advertised “open forum” on health care at Brown University last November.

Thomas More Society attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the charge of disorderly conduct, arguing that Young did not act in a disorderly fashion when he pressed tough questions to Rep. Kennedy and tossed a pro-life video on the desk in front of the Congressman, who quickly took and looked at the video. The video, Maafa 21, is a recently-released documentary on the history of the abortion industry and its targeting of African-Americans.

“This represents a victory for free speech, even when the view expressed gets an inhospitable reception. In this case, it was Young’s view that even a supposedly ‘unwanted’ infant is clothed with an inviolable dignity and endowed with an inalienable right to life,” said Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society.

Brejcha continued, “Congressman Kennedy had opened the forum by arguing that all of us are ‘children of God’ who carry a ‘divine spark.’ Young was entirely within his rights under the First Amendment when he called Kennedy to task for supporting the mass demise of so many millions of unborn human beings—all of whom are no less bearers of a ‘divine spark’ and ‘children of God.’”

Brejcha concluded, “The Congressman’s stubborn insistence that he remains a faithful Catholic, while advocating both for abortion on demand and the suppression of conscience rights, is nothing less than living a lie. Brown’s actions also belied its claim to be a place where ideas may be freely discussed—even the idea that human dignity is universally shared. We urge Brown to heed the message of Salman Rushdie, who lectured at Brown on the eve of Young’s last scheduled court date, urging that all speakers be given the right to speak, even those whose views some find ‘detestable.’”

For more information or to speak with an attorney from the Thomas More Society, contact Tom Ciesielka at 312-422-1333 or tc@tcpr.net.

Larry Schmidt
9035 Mount Vernon Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53226

May Linda’s soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercies of God rest in peace.

Dear Linda—

I had hoped to write this over the weekend—but here I am, Monday night—with the news that you are doing much worse and indeed may soon be leaving us. I truly want you to know how grateful I am for your committed friendship to me. I told you when I saw you just about 10 days ago: “You have been a good friend to me.” These are heartfelt words.

Really, I can hardly think of another person who helped me so much in pro-life work—really throwing yourself into the life-saving mission with me. I can re-call back in 1992, I believe it was, when we blocked the driveway of Neville Senders’ home in Fox Point to prevent him from getting to the abortion clinic. I know you weren’t arrested, but I do remember you standing, or maybe even kneeling on the street, ready to put yourself in front of his car if needed, to block him from being allowed to pass when other pro-lifers were taken away!

I can’t thank you enough for all the work you have done to keep CPLS going in Wisconsin. All the follow-up work you have done for Deatrice and Kewana, all the times that we went together to sidewalk counsel at Summit. I remember, in particular one day we went together and it was honestly, 10 degrees below zero! And I am so proud of the witness you gave with us at Notre Dame last May– I knew that day we were rrested protesting Obama’s appearance was hard for you–but you really stuck with the whole ordeal. Your generosity was heroic! and I have been so edified by all that you gave to the cause of life.

I am proud to know you dear one and proud to call you my friend. I pray for you always. God is your strength and he is with you.

In Him–
I love you, your devoted friend, Monica

Chicago, Ill.—Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of Chicago’s Thomas More Society—the national public interest law firm whose legal team is defending the Notre Dame 88—is sad to report the death of ND88 client Linda Schmidt who died after a courageous battle with terminal cancer.

“It is with a heavy heart that we report that Linda Schmidt died early last night. While she will be missed by her family and loved ones, as a woman of tremendous faith she will no doubt spend eternity with our Lord,” stated Brejcha. “But our grief at losing this dedicated pro-life heroine is greater given the grim truth that she lived her final days under this cloud of criminal charges instigated by Notre Dame, which remained pending even as she departed this life.”

Tom Dixon, lead attorney for the ND 88 and a Notre Dame Law alumnus, first sought a voluntary dismissal of the charges against Mrs. Schmidt on February 9, 2010. Late Friday, February 19, St. Joseph County’s prosecutor requested documentation proving the claim of illness. Medical documentation proving that Mrs. Schmidt had terminal cancer was provided to the prosecutor’s office by early morning February 23. It was also confirmed that Mrs. Schmidt had been given less than two months to live. To date, there has been no response or communication from the prosecutor’s office. “This sad turn of events puts a very human face on the plight of these courageous men and women, most 55 or older, whose lives have been turned topsy-turvy with their futures left in limbo because they had the courage to assert their civil rights and stand for truth,” observed Brejcha.

Repeated overtures have also been made to the Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., president of Notre Dame, urging that he request that the charges be dropped. “Sadly, our requests have been met with legalistic, disingenuous responses that attempt to pass the buck from Fr. Jenkins to the prosecutor. While only the prosecutor can move the court to drop the charges, those charges were initiated by Notre Dame, whose campus police exercised state powers by arresting the ND88 and hauling them to the county jail,” Brejcha said. “As the crimes charged were all for alleged trespassing in violation of Notre Dame’s property rights, there is little doubt that the prosecutor will drop the charges if the ‘campus landowner’—Notre Dame—asks for dismissal. Once again, we urge Notre Dame to put human rights ahead of property rights and publicly request that the prosecutor drop these obnoxious charges.”

-30-

Hamilton County, Ind., March 2—Late yesterday, Chicago’s Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm, filed a 127-page lawsuit against the Indiana Civil Rights Commission (ICRC). The ICRC has adamantly insisted that it has the power to review and penalize a Catholic home schooling group of nine families who joined together for religious reasons to form the Fishers Adolescent Catholic Enrichment Society (FACES) by which the families sought to provide social occasions at which their children could interact in a religious context with other children who were being home schooled. . . Case documents after the break

The lawsuit charges that the ICRC, purporting to wield the vast power of Indiana’s state government, has arrogated to itself virtually unlimited authority to second guess and then penalize the most petty or trivial decisions by such small groups of private citizens and families, even though—as in this case—they have gotten together for explicitly religious reasons. That Indiana’s Civil Rights Law applies to matters “related to education” doesn’t authorize ICRC to insert itself into every minor dispute that may arise, for example, whenever families form car pools to get to school or booster clubs to sponsor social activities to fund athletic or other extracurricular programs.

“Fights over car pools or crayons are not within the purview of Indiana’s Civil Rights Law or subject to ICRC oversight or sanctions,” said Thomas Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, “for that would be absurd and the law abhors absurd interpretations. The agency seems to claim that the scope of its jurisdiction is boundless. It is acting like a lawless giant wielding a sledgehammer on vulnerable private citizens, who were only striving to provide safe, enriching social occasions for their children.”

More fundamentally, the lawsuit charges that the ICRC’s assertion of jurisdiction over these few home schooling families who unite for religious purposes imposes an unconstitutionally intolerable burden on their federal First Amendment rights and their corresponding rights under the Indiana Constitution to freely associate in exercising and expressing their religious beliefs.

Indeed, the burdens imposed on FACES are real and substantial. The whole weight of state power has come down hard on this small voluntary association that subsists on donations and volunteer efforts, has no employees, and offers no goods, services or accommodations to the general public. FACES’ small treasury has been exhausted; it has discontinued social activities pending the outcome of the litigation; and it will be forced to disband if the case proceeds much further. ICRC’s rulings have emitted the worst extremes of chilling effect on associational rights of other home schooling groups throughout Indiana, many of whose members now fear liability as the price of volunteer efforts if any disgruntled parent should file a new charge with ICRC.

FACES’ litigation arose when one mother whose daughter allegedly suffered from a serious food allergy insisted that her child have a special diet at the group’s banquet. FACES’ leaders believed in good faith that a different home-prepared meal would pose less risk to the girl’s health. But the mother circumvented the leaders’ decision, then filed a civil rights charge, claiming “disability discrimination” by reason of FACES’ alleged failure to “accommodate” her daughter’s allergy problem, and then she filed another charge of “retaliation.”

“That secular government officials stand in judgment over this private religious group’s good faith decisions as to whether one accommodation of a child’s health problem would be more ‘reasonable’ than another, when the group’s leaders measure their own conduct according to a religious ideal, constitutes a grave insult to the very concept of religious freedom,” Brejcha said. “With our Indiana co-counsel and expert help from Professor Patrick Gillen of Ave Maria University Law School in Naples, Fla., we are doing our utmost to see that the legal rights of these home schooling families are fully protected,” he added.

State civil rights agencies have limited jurisdiction, but recently they have used their powers in ways that seem far removed from ordinary notions of “civil rights.” New laws protecting “sexual orientation,” for example, have been held to protect men and women, or boys and girls, claiming their “gender identity” to be different from their “biological identity.” When such agencies exceed their powers, as in FACES’ case vs. ICRC, Thomas More Society believes that citizens must step forward to curb those excesses in full accordance with governing law.

Case Documents

• Petition filed in Hamilton, Indiana County Court on Monday, March 1 [PDF 7MB]

The article, entitled A Fool’s Errand: State “Personhood” Proposals [PDF], is an important contribution to the national debate on this strategy for fighting the pro-life battle. The full article can be read here [PDF].

The Human Life Review is available for $25 per year, contact HLR at 353 Lexington Avenue, Suite 802, N.Y., N.Y. 10016; (212) 685-5210. See the Human Life Review website at HumanLifeReview.com or contact them via e-mail at humanlifereview@verizon.net.

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.

Media Coverage of Rockford Bubble Zone

• Abortion clinic landlord likens settlement offer to ‘extortion’—Rock River Times
• Illinois – ‘an island of abortion’ for neighbors—One News Now

Video of the incident can be seen here and case documents can be read here.

As we wait for the trial to proceed, the media has taken notice of this significant case. Local and national news outlets have covered the story. Follow the links below to find out more.

Press Coverage of Chris Young Trial

• Hearing Against Mayoral Candidate Postponed—NBC 10 News
• Mayoral Candidate Still Faces Charges—The Providence Journal
• Young’s disorderly conduct trial postponed—The Brown Daily Herald
• Attorneys Want No Charges For Man Who Challenged Patrick Kennedy on Abortion—LifeNews.com
• Dismissal of Charges Sought for Rep. Kennedy Abortion Questioner—Crosstalk Blog