"There was a policy given to us that we could not offend staff or students or make them feel inferior, which we didn't feel the [pro-life] posters were necessarily doing."For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
-- Bryce Asberg, 15-year-old freshman of WSFL
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-- From "Anti-abortion student group says school is treating it unfairly" by Steve Kiggins, KSPR-TV33 (Springfield, MO) 2/20/14
The freshman [Bryce Asberg] said two fliers they wanted posted in the school were denied by the school's administration because they might offend staff and students. The district said only one was denied.
Now attorneys from Chicago's Thomas More Society - which provides pro bono services - are threatening legal action if the school doesn't grant the Wilson Students for Life club the same rights as other student clubs.
Asberg points to other posters made by Wilson High School's Gay Straight Alliance club.
He says those signs could also be considered offensive by some, but they were approved by school officials and are hanging in the hallways.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Wilson High student claims school officials banned messages from anti-abortion student club" by Debbie Cafazzo, Tacoma News Tribune 2/19/14
School district attorney Shannon McMinimee said . . . two other posters were initially disallowed because the club didn’t go through the approval process -- a point that Bryce disputes.
One of the posters that was initially disallowed features a quote from President Ronald Reagan: “I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion is already born.” The other poster marks the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision on abortion.
[Asberg] listed one example of a poster that shows various stages of fetal development. He said the poster was allowed but he had to remove its printed message: “Abortion breaks tiny hearts.”
The law firm wrote a letter to Wilson administrators dated Feb. 11, saying that Wilson Students for Life was “denied permission by Wilson High administrators to hold a day of silence, to hold a candlelight vigil or even to hang certain pro-life posters.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Washington high school censors pro-life group, promotes gay group" by Caroline May, Political Reporter, Daily Caller 2/19/14
“Wilson High School’s refusal to treat Wilson Students for Life equally to all other groups constitutes a violation of [Wilson Students for Life president and founder Bryce] Asberg and his fellow club members’ rights under both the federal Equal Access Act and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the letter, dated Feb. 11, 2014 reads.
Asberg, a Wilson freshman, told The Daily Caller that he started the group last year and that the school has not quite known what to do with the group’s message — for example he said, the group has been allowed to post flyers about where they are meeting and about fetal development so long as the word “abortion” was not on the materials.
Thomas More Society senior counsel Peter Breen explained to TheDC that the hope is to resolve the matter without further legal action; however, the firm is prepared to take such action if necessary.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "High School Denies Censoring Pro-Life Student Group" by Alec Torres, National Review Online 2/20/14
“Any allegation that this group was not allowed to display posters at any point is false, as is any allegation that they have been denied the ability to put up posters that express a message, or a controversial message,” Shannon McMinimee, general counsel for the Tacoma Public Schools tells National Review Online. McMinimee says the school even allowed posters from the group that others would find controversial or offensive, including posters featuring fetuses and embryos.
“There is a tremendous amount of inaccurate information being shared,” McMinimmee says.
[Attorney Peter] Breen has a different story. “Either the schools’ general counsel has not talked with the administrators at all, or something else, but her story doesn’t comport at all with the students’ experience,” he says.
Though McMinimee said she has tried to contact the Thomas More Society multiple times regarding the letter sent to the school, Breen says they have not received any communications from her.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
