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Illinois Federation For Right to Life Daily News |
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Last week Eric Scheidler had a Settlement Conference with lawyers for the City of Aurora and our First Amendment rights to protest abortion and offer help outside Planned Parenthood |
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The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is dedicated to restoring the right to life to the unborn, and protection for the disabled and the elderly. Click here to learn more about the IFRL. |
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Tuesday, April 01, 2008 |
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Settlement Conference with Aurora |
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They met for several hours last Wednesday in the chambers of Federal Judge Virginia Kendall. Both the judge AND the lawyers representing the City recognized that we had some serious civil rights concerns.
They seemed especially troubled by the incident last November when a police officer demanded to know what pro-lifer Roger Earl was praying about -- and then ordered him across the street.
Roger was at the Settlement Conference with his wife Elizabeth and baby daughter Isabel, and he told his story to the judge.
Curiously MISSING from the Conference was Aurora Corporation Counsel Alayne Weingartz. I won't speculate on the reasons for her absence.
In her place was Mayor Weisner's chief of staff, Bill Wiet. He was quite friendly, though he didn't have much to say during the meeting.
We discussed our concerns about fully exercising our First Amendment rights to protest abortion and offer help outside Planned Parenthood, and agreed to meet with Judge Kendall again in May.
In the meantime, the attorneys for both sides will attempt to draft some "ground rules" for both the police and the pro-lifer to guide the situation at Planned Parenthood for the future.
This is a promising opportunity for us to safeguard our freedoms without having to go through a lengthy court battle. Let's all pray that it works out.
Contact: Eric Scheidler Source: Pro-Life Action League Source URL: http://www.prolifeaction.org |
