Supreme Court Declines to Hear Pro-Life Sidewalk Counselor’s Case

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Header

A Catholic woman from Westchester County, New York, won’t get her day before the nation’s highest court.

The Supreme Court passed up an opportunity on Dec. 11 to lay the groundwork for overturning its precedent permitting protective zones called “bubbles” around abortion clinics to keep protesters and pro-life sidewalk counselors away.

The nation’s highest court declined a petition filed by Debra Vitagliano that sought to appeal a lower court ruling dismissing her lawsuit that claimed Westchester County, New York, violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The petition also specifically invited the court to overrule its existing precedent upholding laws about the bubbles. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled against her in June.

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for certiorari, or review, in Vitagliano v. County of Westchester, in an unsigned order (pdf). No justices dissented. At least four of the nine justices must vote for a petition for the case to advance to the oral argument stage.

Ms. Vitagliano expressed disappointment that the court turned down her petition.

“A pregnant woman in need deserves to know that she and her child will be loved, defended, and supported,” she said in a statement provided by her attorneys after the Supreme Court ruled.

“Westchester County threatened to put me in jail for over a year, just for speaking a message of hope to women outside abortion clinics. When I asked the Supreme Court to take my case, Westchester County repealed the law, admitting it had not been necessary to threaten women with jail time for peaceful conversations. No government official should try to outlaw compassionate conversations on a public sidewalk.”

Ms. Vitagliano is a devout Catholic and an occupational therapist, according to her attorneys at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a public interest law firm focused on protecting religious freedoms.

For more than 40 years, she has worked with children diagnosed with various physical and neurological disabilities, including severe disabilities that some seek to address by abortion. Consistent with her Catholic faith, she opposes abortion and sees it as the deliberate termination of an innocent human life.

By Matthew Vadum

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

AI is Now an Existential Threat

We now see evidence that artificial intelligence is an existential threat to our future. It is coming to take American jobs!

With or without

The mullahs of Iran have been at war with the West, particularly the US, for half a century and Iran is also the world’s foremost champion of terrorism.

Artificial Intelligence Equals Awful Iniquities

WSJ article “AI is Learning to Escape Human Control” said in 79 of 100 trials, the o3 AI code systems edited their own code to prevent human shutdown!

VIDEO: Deranged Feminist vs. Mating Ducks in Epic Public Meltdown

A middle-aged white lady lib harasses mating ducks to “stop it!” because the rough sex they enjoy appears non-consensual on the part of the female.

RFK Jr. Slashes ALL U.S. Funding For Bill Gates’ Global ‘Vaccine Alliance’

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. recently pulled all U.S. government funding from Bill Gates’ Global ‘Vaccine Alliance’ GAVI.

Musk Again Wades Into Politics, Calls GOP Bill ‘Insane and Destructive’

“The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!” Musk wrote in a Saturday post on X.

Nevada Seen as Case Study in Rapid Urban Sprawl Amid a Water Crisis

Nevada’s rapidly growing population has reached a critical intersection with the region’s worsening water crisis, according to experts.

US Streamlines Rule for Fining Illegal Immigrants, Will Issue Nearly $1,000 Daily Fines for Noncompliance

DHS and DOJ announced a new joint federal rule that streamlines the process of issuing fines for illegal immigrants, making it easier and more efficient.

Man Indicted on 12 Hate Crime Charges in Attack on Boulder Demonstration for Israeli Hostages

Boulder, CO man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages indicted by grand jury on 12 hate crime counts.

Canada-US Trade Talks Will End Until ‘Certain Taxes’ Are Dropped, Trump Stresses

Trade discussions between Canada and the United States will end “until such time as they drop certain taxes,” U.S. President Trump said in an interview.

Trump Says US to Send Tariff Letters to Trade Partners Before July 9 Deadline

President Donald Trump said Sunday he will soon send letters to trading partners detailing the tariffs to be imposed on their exports to the United States.

Trump Says He Found a Buyer for TikTok

President Trump said he found a buyer for the Chinese-owned short video application TikTok, and that he will reveal the group in roughly two weeks.

Termination of ‘Wasteful Contracts’ Saves US Government $470 Million Last Week: DOGE

Over the past seven days, various government agencies have terminated 312 “wasteful contracts” with a ceiling value of $2.8 billion, the DOGE said.
spot_img

Related Articles