Mark Harrington, National Director
Created Equal
Columbus, OH – June 10, 2016 – Columbus City Council is attempting to shut down all sidewalk counselors in the city through a proposed ordinance that would charge anti-abortion activists with a first-degree misdemeanor for "harassing" someone within 15 feet of an abortion center. "Harassing" is given the broad definition to include anything that could cause anyone to be fearful of physical harm. Although this ordinance applies to all "reproductive healthcare locations," it is specifically targeted at the sidewalk counseling teams that have created a consistent presence outside the two remaining abortion facilities in Columbus.
Let's pack the house at the public hearing for this ordinance next Tuesday, June 14th, at 5:30 PM at the Neighborhood Policing Center, 950 E Main St Columbus, OH 43205. (City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance on June 20th.)There is even more at stake than the blatant, unconstitutional censorship of our right to exercise free speech in the public arena. Since #ProtestPP kicked off the sidewalk counseling teams at Planned Parenthood last August, over 70 lives have been saved as clients have turned away from the death camp's doors with the encouragement of sidewalk counselors. And we know that is only a fraction of the actual number of children saved as there are so many clients, passers-by, and workers who will never speak with a counselor.
- Read the Columbus Dispatch article here.
- Check out the ordinance's legislative text here.
- Join the Facebook event and invite your anti-abortion comrades.
Our fight for the lives of these babies, our stand for constitutional rights to free speech, and the precedent of this decision in the national debate don't allow us to sit on the sidelines. Will you join us?
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