Protecting Pro-Life Speech in VA

A judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, has granted a motion by the Commonwealths Attorney to dismiss trespassing charges against two members of the pro-life activist group, Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust.

Survivors is a California-based, Christian nonprofit organization made up of individuals who are compelled by their faith to take a stand against abortion.  Survivors seeks to educate others so they too may take an informed position on the right to life.

On January 27th, while peacefully distributing pro-life literature on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University (GMU) and engaging students in conversation on the issue of abortion, Henry and Christi were approached and ultimately arrested by the GMU Police. Although Survivors had obtained prior permission from the GMU Events Management Office to engage in their protected speech activities in front of the Johnson Center, and their activities were neither loud nor disruptive, Henry and Christi were told they were being arrested for trespassing because their First Amendment demonstration was not authorized in that particular location and had caused a disturbance.

While ACLJ attorneys were preparing to defend the constitutional right of Survivors members to exercise their religious convictions by speaking and distributing pro-life literature on a public university campus, the prosecutor in the case asked the court to drop the trespass charges.

Were pleased that the Office of the Commonwealths Attorney in Fairfax understood that the peaceful dialogue and literature distribution on a public university campus did not violate any law but was actually protected activity under the First Amendment.