Thomas More Law Center’s Lawsuit Against Portland’s “Buffer Zone” Around an Abortion Clinic
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – A conservative law center filed a lawsuit in federal court this month challenging Portland, Maine’s ordinance that creates a 39-foot “buffer zone” around the city’s lone abortion clinic, which is run by Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
The Thomas More Law Center alleges that the ordinance was enacted to prevent pro-life speech near abortion clinics. The ordinance was enacted as an “emergency measure” by Portland’s City Council on November 18, 2013, according to Thomas More officials.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Daniel and Marguerite Fitzgerald and two of their high-school aged children who are Evangelical Christians.
They have been praying, counseling and offering pregnancy resource literature outside of the abortion facility for over a year prior to the enactment of the ordinance, Thomas More officials state.
Their counseling activities are motivated by their religious beliefs and close proximity to the abortion clinic allows the family to speak to those who use the abortion clinic about adoption, financial and emotional support, according to Thomas More officials.
Violations of the ordinance can result in a $100 fine.
Southern Poverty Law Center’s and other Civil Rights Groups’ Complaint Alleges Discrimination Against Immigrant Youth by Schools
Civil rights groups filed a complaint urging the U.S. Department of Justice to launch an investigation into two school districts in North Carolina which are allegedly discriminating against immigrant youth by denying, delaying or discouraging enrollment.
The complaint was filed after a female Honduran immigrant identified as “C.V.” was denied twice admission to a school in Buncombe County, N.C. She planned to get a high school diploma and attend cosmetology school, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, of the civil rights groups.
School officials told her she was too old, even though North Carolina law says all students under 21 years are entitled to get a public education in the school district where they live, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is based in Montgomery, Alabama.
The groups noted that incidents appear to be symptomatic of a larger problem in school districts across the state.
“These children should not have to face excuse after excuse from school officials who simply do not want them to ever set foot in a North Carolina classroom,” said Caren Short, Southern Poverty Law Center staff attorney.
The complaint urges the Justice Department to require the districts to adopt a nondiscrimination policy and to provide training to ensure that the law is followed.
The complaint also describes discrimination faced by “F.C.,” a native of Guatemala who arrived in the United States without his parents but now lives with them in Marshville, N.C.
His mother is recognized as his sponsor.
When F.C.’s mother attempted to enroll him in Forest Hills High School in Marshville last year, she was told her 17-year-old son was too old for school. F.C. was referred to a GED program at a local community college, the civil rights groups allege.
At the college, F.C.’s mother was told her son was too young for the GED program and to try to enroll him in high school again. At the high school, she was told that F.C. – a native Spanish speaker who understands little or no English – would not be enrolled until after he took an ESL exam.
F.C. was unable to complete the exam because it was in English. The person administering the exam helped F.C. submit an enrollment application that finally allowed him to attend Forest Hills High School in the Union County School District this past August.
The discrimination encountered by these children is a violation of Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bar discrimination on the basis of national origin in federally funded public schools, according to the complaint.
The complaint also notes that more than 30 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Plyler v. Doe that it is unconstitutional to deny a child present in the United States a public education, regardless of their federal immigration status.