Pro-life groups appeal ruling in Washington, D.C.-based First Amendment lawsuit

Two pro-life organizations are asking a federal appeals court to uphold their First Amendment right to chalk a pro-life message on a Washington, D.C., sidewalk after two advocates were arrested for doing so in 2020.

The Frederick Douglass Foundation and Students for Life of America (SFLA) are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reverse a district court ruling in favor of the city and remand the case for a jury trial. The request was outlined in a July 16 press release from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represents the organizations.

The lawsuit stems from the August 2020 arrest of two pro-life advocates who wrote "Black Pre-Born Lives Matter" in chalk outside a Planned Parenthood facility. According to the release, the organizations contend city officials violated the First Amendment by prosecuting the advocates while allowing other political messages, including “Black Lives Matter” street murals, on public property.

John Bursch, ADF senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy, said the appeal seeks to ensure First Amendment protections are applied equally. 

"Washington officials can't censor messages they disagree with,” he said. “The right to free speech is for everyone.” 

The release said the district court later ruled in favor of the city after the appeals court reinstated the organizations' First Amendment claims in 2023 and returned the case to the lower court, prompting the latest appeal.

Kristan Hawkins, president of SFLA, said the organization will continue defending the rights of those who advocate for the pre-born.

"Pro-abortion leaders in the nation's capital must not be allowed to violate the U.S. Constitution by criminalizing pro-life speech they don't like,” she said. “And we will come back to court in Washington D.C. for as many times as it takes to protect the rights of Americans who care about babies in the womb.”