Join us in supporting the challenge against Louisville’s buffer zone ordinance in Federal Court.
Today, Life again before the Court in Louisville Kentucky Calling on our prayer warriors… Kentucky Right to Life & Sisters for Life Return to Court Today! Our “Buffer Zone Case” seems to be an ongoing saga with the City of Louisville. Judge Jennings has scheduled an evidentiary hearing for May 30th in Louisville. Please keep us in your prayers, as it has been 3 years and we are still in the Courts defending our Constitutional Rights… History of the Case: I. The Buffer Zone, established by a Louisville metro ordinance in May 2021, barred anyone not entering or exiting the EMW Women’s Surgical Center for services, from coming within 10 feet of the entrance.The ordinance implementing the buffer zone, passed by the Louisville Metro Council by a narrow margin in May 2021, claimed to be necessary to shield women seeking abortion services at EMW, as well as EMW’s own employees, from what the City attempted to present in their cases as harassment. (EMW at the time was the Louisville women’s clinic offering abortion services in Kentucky, amid ongoing legal disputes over whether the procedure was still legal in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.) Prior to May 2021, for over 30 years Kentucky Right to Life and our prolife supporters had prayed, advocated for life and ministered to women seeking an abortion at EMW. For years, our groups’ members regularly visited EMW to pray, and conduct a “sidewalk ministry and compassionate counsel”, discouraging women from getting abortions and offering information on supportive options. II. After much prayer and with the guidance of council, we made a joint decision (Kentucky Right to Life and Sisters for Life) to challenge the buffer zone. In June 2021 we filed a joint lawsuit, Kentucky Right to Life and Sisters for Life presented that barring our members from praying and ministering to women at the clinic entrance was a violation of free speech and religious freedom rights. The lawsuit was first filed in Western District Court on June 8, 2021, naming Louisville Metro Government, Mayor Greg Fischer, and then-police chief Ericka Shields as defendants in Federal Court a month after the Louisville ordinance took effect. III. The Buffer Zone was not actually enforced until the Federal Judge first denied our groups’ requests in September 2021. Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled that we (the plaintiffs) had not provided enough information to justify their need for a preliminary injunction, but also denied the City’s motion to dismiss. Working with our Legal Council we continued to challenge the buffer zone and then filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals. IV. On December 8, 2022, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit heard arguments over the demarcation of the buffer zone outside the Kentucky abortion clinic one and a half years after pro-life groups and sidewalk counselors first challenged the city ordinance in court. Kentucky Right to Life, Sisters for Life, Ed Harpring, and Mary Kenney contend that a buffer zone outside EMW Women’s Surgical Center in Louisville infringes on the freedom of religion and free speech rights of sidewalk counselors. V. The Appeals Court halts Louisville abortion clinic buffer zone Published 12:10 PM EDT, December 22, 2022 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Federal Appeals Court has temporarily barred the enforcement of a Louisville city ordinance that creates a buffer zone around health care centers, including a downtown abortion clinic that attracts protesters. The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled the buffer zone infringes on the First Amendment rights of protesters who demonstrate in front of the EMW Women’s Surgical Center. The lawsuit challenging the buffer zone was brought by Kentucky Right to Life and Sisters for Life and the Kentucky Right to Life Association. The Appeals Court wrote in an opinion that the groups “wish to offer leaflets and compassionate, even if sometimes unwelcome, speech to women entering abortion clinics,” … the limits imposed by the city law “likely violate the First Amendment”. The U.S. Court of Appeals differed with a lower district court and Judge Jennings, a ruling that declined to impose an injunction on the buffer zone. So today as we find ourselves once again before the Court, I would like to ask for your prayers. As always, thank you in advance for your prayers and faithful support. Changing Hearts- Saving Lives, Addia |