Court: images of aborted children are protected by 1st Amendment
April 11, 2012
In a 3-2 decision, the Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that officials in the town of Jackson violated a pro-life organization’s First Amendment rights when it issued a temporary restraining order limiting protests during a Boy Scout festival.
“Speech on public issues or matters of public concern are classic forms of speech that lie at the heart of the First Amendment,” the court ruled. “Speech directed at abortion policy is public issue speech.”
“The fact that the messages conveyed by those communications may be offensive to their recipients does not deprive them of constitutional protection,” the ruling continued. “As a general matter, we have indicated that in public debate our own citizens must tolerate insulting, and even outrageous, speech in order to provide adequate ‘breathing space’ to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment.”
“We find that this level of protection must likewise be extended to the graphic photographs OSA [Operation Save America] chooses to use in its demonstrations.”
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Further information:
- Court: Order stifled speech (Jackson Hole News & Guide)
- Court protects graphic abortion images (WorldNetDaily.com)
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