Maine Attorney General Janet Mills filed a civil rights lawsuit against Lisbon Pastor Brian Ingalls for peacefully preaching a pro-life message outside a Planned Parenthood facility in Portland. Abortionists appealed to the pro-abortion Democrat AG saying that pregnant mothers inside their facility could hear the pastor's concerns about “murdering babies, aborted babies’ blood and Jesus.”
For background, read Court Orders Portland to Pay $56,500 for Muzzling Pro-lifer
-- From "Maine sues anti-abortion protester, claiming he shouts too loud" by Dave Sherwood, Reuters 11/10/15
"All patients have the right to receive medical services free of 'the cacophony of political protests,' in the words of the United States Supreme Court," Mills, a Democrat, said in a statement. "While protesters have every right to say anything they want in a public area in the vicinity of a medical facility, they are not permitted to disrupt another citizen's healthcare services."
Maine law protects the right of any person to receive "safe and effective" medical services without disruptions caused by loud noises.
According to the complaint, police warned Ingalls to keep his voice down so that he would not be heard inside, but he continued yelling anyway.
The lawsuit would prevent Ingalls, a regular protester at the clinic, from coming within 50 feet (15 m) of the facility.
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From "Maine sues Planned Parenthood foe, says he yelled too loudly" by Patrick Whittle, Associated Press 11/11/15
Attorney General Janet Mills filed the complaint against Brian Ingalls, 26, under the state's civil rights act. Mills said he violated the rights of patients at the Portland facility on Oct. 23 when the sound of his voice directed to the second floor disrupted counseling sessions between staff and patients.
Ingalls, of Lisbon, declined to comment when reached by email. His attorney, Erin Kuenzig, said it's a "baseless lawsuit" filed to circumvent a U.S. Supreme Court ruling about protester buffer zones. . . . The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that similar buffer zones in Massachusetts violated free speech rights.
"They're trying to claim that it's some kind of safety concern that he was preaching the Bible on a public sidewalk," Kuenzig said. "Just completely meritless."
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From "AG accuses man of civil rights violations during Planned Parenthood protest" by Christopher Cousins, Staff, Bangor Daily News 11/10/15
The suit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court alleges that Ingalls frequently is a protester at the Portland Planned Parenthood location and on Oct. 23 “was yelling up toward the second floor of the building at 443 Congress St. about murdering babies, aborted babies’ blood and Jesus.”
Erin Kuenzig is with the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Ingalls in this suit. She said that Mills’ suit is an attempt to rehash a prior legal battle the law center fought against Portland when the city tried and ultimately failed to implement a 39-foot buffer zone for protests around Planned Parenthood’s Congress Street location.
“The complaint that was filed was completely meritless and just an attempt to circumvent the court ruling issued in October,” Kuenzig said by phone Tuesday. “This is essentially another buffer zone. … It’s clear that Planned Parenthood doesn’t like what Mr. Ingalls is saying, and he’s simply a Christian who is preaching from the Bible.”
Kuenzig said one flaw in the complaint is that there is no guideline about how loud someone can protest.
“There’s no way to judge that,” she said. “This is just another way to try to silence pro-life advocates outside the abortion clinic.”
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