Illinois Federation

For Right to Life

Daily News

Friday, October 03, 2008

Interpretation of New Illinois Law Could Stifle Grassroots Advocacy Groups

 

Pro-life advocates say a new law intended to protect small, grassroots organizations is doing just the opposite.

 

Today in Kane County Circuit Court, members of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League were shocked to hear Planned Parenthood of Illinois is demanding $317,322 in legal fees related to a libel lawsuit filed against it by the League and its communication director, Eric Scheidler. Planned Parenthood says it is entitled to recover legal fees for parts of the libel lawsuit a judge dismissed under Illinois' new Citizen Participation Act.

 

"As if it weren't enough for Planned Parenthood to smear our good name with lies in letters to the Aurora City Council and ads in newspapers, now they want to bankrupt us and shut us down for daring to challenge their lies," said Scheidler.

 

According to its wording, the Act was intended to protect individuals' and small organizations' "constitutional rights to...participate in and communicate with government," and guard against the threat of frivolous and costly lawsuits that might deter them from doing so.

 

In this case, the billion-dollar enterprise, Planned Parenthood, is using the law to justify its defamatory statements against Scheidler and the Pro-Life Action League, a small non-profit that operates on an annual budget of $800,000, compared to Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area's budget of more than $15 million.

 

The Act was signed into law on August 28, 2007, just a week before Planned Parenthood accused pro-life advocates of fomenting violence in local newspaper ads and in a letter to the Aurora City Council. Judge Judith Brawka interpreted it and the letter to City Council as being protected because the ad contained a line urging readers to call their local alderman.

 

"Under this interpretation, the Citizen Participation Act has been used not to protect, but to penalize citizen participation -- to the tune of $317,000," said Tom Brejcha, Scheidler's attorney and chief counsel for Thomas More Society/Pro-Life Law Center. "The enormity of Planned Parenthood's fee demand underscores the chilling effects on First-Amendment rights that will inevitably follow the ruling in this case."

 

"They're turning the Citizen Participation Act completely upside-down," Scheidler said. "Powerful Planned Parenthood is trying to intimidate me into dropping my libel case under threat of financial ruin for my small non-profit organization and my family -- but it won't work."

 

Scheidler and his attorneys will return to court on November 12 to respond to Planned Parenthood's fee petition.

 

Contact: Amber Dawe

Source: TC Public Relations

Source URL: www.tcpr.net

Publish Date: October 1, 2008

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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.