US National Archives apologises for targeting pro-lifers’ free speech

The National Archives in the US has apologised after its staff refused to allow March for Life attendees entry into its museum unless they removed their pro-life attire.

The annual event, which this year marked 50 years since the US Supreme Court legalised abortion nationwide in 1973, saw several attendees visit the museum in Washington DC after campaigning for protections for the unborn.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) admitted: “As the home to the original Constitution and Bill of Rights, which enshrine the rights of free speech and religion, we sincerely apologise for this occurrence.”

‘Incitement’

Four pro-lifers, who visited the museum as part of three separate groups, have launched legal action against the NARA for its staff’s actions.

Wendilee Lassiter says a security guard told her to remove her t-shirt, which read “I AM THE POST-ROE GENERATION: LAW STUDENTS FOR LIFE”, because it would “incite others” and that she was “disturbing the peace”.

But she reported seeing at least two other museum visitors who wore pro-abortion apparel with statements such as “My Body, My Choice”.

‘Intolerable’

Another pro-lifer visiting the museum as part of a school trip told a friend “he told me to take off my pro-life pin as I was standing next to the constitution that literally says Freedom of Speech on it”.

The American Center for Law and Justice is supporting the campaigners’ case.

Jordan Sekulow, Executive Director of the firm, said: “What occurred is not only an injustice, it is intolerable, and we aren’t going to let them get away with it. We intend to find out what’s behind this targeted discrimination.”

Silent prayer

In the UK, pro-life campaigners arrested for silently praying near an abortion centre in Birmingham were fully vindicated last week.

During hearings at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, the judge dismissed cases brought against Isabel Vaughan-Spruce and Roman Catholic priest Sean Gough, after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) failed to provide any evidence and dropped the charges.

The Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in force around the centre prohibits individuals from “engaging in any act of approval or disapproval” in relation to abortion, including “prayer or counselling”.