ADF to 7th Circuit: City unjustly denied ad for Indiana women in need

 

Attorney sound bite:  Kevin Theriot

 

WHO: Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot

WHAT: Available for media interviews following hearing in Women’s Health Link v. Fort Wayne Public Transportation Corp.

WHEN: Thursday, June 2, immediately following hearing, which begins at 9:30 a.m. CDT

WHERE: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, 219 S. Dearborn St., Main Courtroom, Room 2721, Chicago

CHICAGO – Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot will be available for media interviews Thursday following an appeals court hearing regarding the Fort Wayne bus system’s refusal to accept an ad from Women’s Health Link, a life-affirming health care referral service for women in need.

ADF attorneys filed a federal lawsuit in April 2014 against Citilink for denying the ad because the city-run bus company said the referral service’s website contains information on “controversial issues.” In February, ADF attorneys appealed a district court’s decision to uphold the bus company’s ban.

 

“A city can’t run ads from some non-profit groups, such as the United Way, and then censor a nearly identical ad from a group like Women’s Health Link. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech for all people, regardless of their political, moral, or religious views,” Theriot explained. “Because government has a responsibility to ensure equal access to community advertising forums that it creates, we hope the 7th Circuit will reverse the district court’s decision.”

 

Women’s Health Link is a free referral resource for women seeking physical, emotional, spiritual, or mental health care. In November 2013, Women’s Health Link asked to place advertising cards in the interior of Citilink’s buses that contained a picture of a young woman and the tagline “You’re Not Alone” along with the center’s contact information.

 

The ad is virtually indistinguishable from a United Way ad and health-related government ads that Citilink approved. ADF attorneys argue that the bus system unconstitutionally prohibited Women’s Health Link’s ad because of its life-affirming ideology and association with a pro-life group.