Abortion foes challenge rules on campus demonstrations, exhibits

By The Associated Press

10.03.02

Printer-friendly page

AUSTIN, Texas — An anti-abortion student group is accusing University of Texas officials and its flagship campus in Austin of violating its free-speech rights.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund filed a federal lawsuit Sept. 30 against the university officials seeking to overturn school policies regarding student demonstrations and exhibits. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Justice for All, an anti-abortion student organization, also seeks unspecified damages.

According to the lawsuit, the university repeatedly denied permits for Justice for All to stage exhibits that included photographs of aborted fetuses.

The lawsuit accuses University of Texas President Larry Faulkner and other officials of censoring both the exhibit and accompanying literature. The university then allowed a professor and another student organization to disrupt an exhibit.

"This is a case of political correctness run amok," said Benjamin W. Bull, chief counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.

"They treat politically correct speech as if it were Shakespeare," Bull said. "They treat unpolitically correct speech as if it were pornography."

University spokesman Robert Meckel declined comment.

According to the lawsuit, in December 2000 university officials prohibited Justice for All from staging an exhibit in a "traditional" demonstration area, labeling it "inappropriate." The group appealed but was rejected by Faulkner.

The group then moved its exhibit to another area, but said school officials, citing the university's "no solicitation" policy, forced it to cover contact information for crisis pregnancy centers and help-lines.

The group said the services offered were free and that abortion-rights groups were allowed to distribute literature with off-campus solicitation information at a nearby table.

The lawsuit states that Justice for All videotaped a university official blacking out words and information on brochures and signs that were a part of its exhibit. It also states that school officials allowed several hundred students to invade the exhibit area which effectively shut it down.

According to the lawsuit, a professor and students used a bullhorn to scream at and heckle a guest speaker during another university-approved Justice For All event, and campus officials did not enforce policy against disruptive behavior.

Related

Student, anti-abortion group sue Texas college
Lawsuit claims University of Houston violated students' First Amendment rights by restricting location of graphic display.  02.05.02

Group sues college for restricting location of anti-abortion display
Indiana University attorney says area requested by organization is not 'designated public forum.'  09.15.00