| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 19, 2018 |
CONTACT: Nicole Stacy [email protected] | 202-223-8073 |
Pro-lifers will gather on the steps of the Supreme Court and on social media during NIFLA v. Becerra oral arguments to #GiveFreeSpeechLife
Washington, D.C. – Pro-life leaders and activists organized by National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) will rally in support of freedom of speech for pro-life pregnancy help centers (PHCs) on the steps of the Supreme Court Tuesday, March 20th from 9:00 a.m. to noon ET and on social media using the hashtag #GiveFreeSpeechLife as oral arguments begin in NIFLA v. Becerra.
NIFLA is challenging a California law, AB775, which forces PHCs to advertise and refer for state-funded abortions. For more information on the case, visit www.givefreespeechlife.org.
WHO: Local and national pro-life advocates speaking will include:
Catherine Glenn Foster, President and CEO, Americans United for Life
Peggy Hartshorn, President of the Board, Heartbeat International & Associate Scholar, Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI)
Michele Hendrickson, Students for Life of America
Jeanne Mancini, President, March for Life
Jeanneane Maxon, Attorney & Associate Scholar, Charlotte Lozier Institute
Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council
Genevieve Plaster, Deputy Director, Charlotte Lozier Institute
Mallory Quigley, Vice President of Communications, Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List)
Roland Warren, President and CEO, CareNet
Representatives of pregnancy help centers and pro-life groups around the country
WHAT: Rally in support of pregnancy help centers
WHEN: 9:00 a.m.-noon ET, Tuesday, March 20th
WHERE: Steps of the U.S. Supreme Court
“The fundamental question before the Court is whether the First Amendment’s guarantees mean anything at all,” said CLI President Chuck Donovan. “If the government can force life-affirming pregnancy centers to undermine their entire mission, co-opting their walls to display state-approved messages that advertise for abortion, can Alcoholics Anonymous be compelled to tell their members where to get liquor, or the American Lung Association forced to promote cigarettes? Pregnancy help centers exist to serve and support mothers in the courageous decision to give their children life, even under difficult circumstances. Approximately 2,750 centers around the country provide a multitude of free services for millions of women each year. It is women, children, and families who ultimately suffer when these centers’ good deeds are punished. We are optimistic that the Supreme Court will side with the First Amendment liberty of these remarkable nonprofits to carry out their mission of love.”
SBA List’s National Pro-Life Women’s Caucus and SBA’s research arm, the Charlotte Lozier Institute, joined by the March for Life Education Fund, previously submitted an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of NIFLA’s case. Petitioner National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) represents more than 1,400 pregnancy help centers nationwide, including 135 in California.
Susan B. Anthony List and its partner super PAC, Women Speak Out, spent more than $18 million in the 2016 election cycle, knocking on more than 1.1 million doors in battleground states to defeat Hillary Clinton and maintain a pro-life Senate. SBA List is dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women. The SBA List is a network of more than 630,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.
Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony List. CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world. The Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women.
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