Pro-Life Group Alleges Free-Speech Violation, Files Lawsuit Against Univ. of Colorado
by Jim Brown and Jody Brown
April 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - The University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder has been sued for allegedly discriminating against a student pro-life group on campus.At issue is a university decision to deny the group Justice for All (JFA) the location it requested to set up an outdoor pro-life exhibit. The exhibit features graphic photos of late-term abortions. CU officials assigned the group to an area of campus that has less pedestrian traffic and, according to the group, insufficient space for the entire exhibit.
Jeremy Tedesco is an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, which has sued the school on behalf of JFA. Tedesco says to base a restriction on the controversial nature of speech violates the First Amendment. The university's policy, he believes, leaves too much to the whim of the administration.
"They need to abandon their policy that grants CU officials the unbridled discretion to determine what events are and are not potentially disruptive and controversial, and that also permits those officials to make up ad hoc restrictions on speech deemed to be so," the attorney says.
And even though the display contains graphic abortion images, Tedesco says it should not be relegated to a less-trafficked area of campus.
"The bottom line is, the last time JFA was at Colorado University in 2003, there was some disruption on campus; but the disruption was caused by counter-protesters against the pro-life message," he explains. "JFA held their event in a very respectful and quiet manner."
Tedesco says whether university officials like pro-life expression or not has no bearing on whether pro-lifers can express their message on campus. He maintains that school officials cannot restrict speech based on the hostile reactions of others, or what they anticipate to be the hostile reactions of others.
All JFA wants to do, he says, is "quietly and peaceably express their message."
The ADF attorney also notes what he sees as a double standard at CU. "University officials do not have the right to play favorites," he says. "They defended free speech for [CU professor] Ward Churchill when he called 9-11 victims 'little Eichmanns,' yet they've disregarded the free speech rights of this pro-life student group."
"The university officials at CU-Boulder are hypocrites when it comes to free speech," Tedesco exclaims.
