Judge says students must be allowed to make school announcement opposing Michigan abortion measure
A federal judge has ruled that Republican students at a Michigan high school can go forward with a school announcement that criticizes a proposed abortion measure on the state’s ballot.
In a ruling issued Nov. 4, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman found that Skyline High School in Ann Arbor sought to “silence … appropriate speech” of members of the Skyline Republican Club when the school prohibited the group from making a statement criticizing Proposal 3, which would enshrine abortion as a state constitutional right.
The issue began when the president of the Skyline Republican Club — a minor who was not identified in court documents — requested on Oct. 21 to make the following announcement:
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“Attention Students: Are you interested in joining our efforts to protect the health of women and children? If Proposal 3 is passed it would eliminate health and safety regulations, legalize late-term and partial-birth abortion, no longer require physicians to perform abortions, and eliminate informed consent laws. If so, email us at skylinerepublicanclub@ gmail.com.”
After the group submitted their announcement, attorneys with Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center say they received an email from the school stating that “your announcement is not going to be read or posted due to its political nature.”
According to attorneys, when the plaintiffs met with the school principal’s secretary who rejected the announcement, it was confirmed that the announcement was not read because it was “political.”
After sending a letter to Ann Arbor Public Schools requesting that the announcement be read, attorneys say the district “denied wrongdoing, while continuing to censor plaintiffs’ speech.”
But when administrators still refused to allow the message to be broadcast, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of David Nielsen and his son, alleging Skyline High School violated their First Amendment rights.
According to attorneys, school officials previously allowed student and student groups to “pro-choice and left-leaning viewpoints” over the PA system on a range of controversial topics, including abortion, Planned Parenthood, Black Lives Matter, climate change and others.
“In short, Skyline High School’s record shows it does not hesitate to share certain viewpoints over the morning announcements,” TMLC said in a statement.
Administrators were aware of a walkout planned by a student chapter of the National Organization of Women on Nov. 7 in favor of Proposal 3 on school grounds and yet did not take any action to prevent that walkout from occurring, Borman wrote in his ruling.
"Permitting students in favor of Proposal 3 to cut classes, and to demonstrate on school property in favor of Proposal 3," while simultaneously rejecting the Skyline Republican Club’s message over its "political nature," was a violation of the club’s "rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution,” the judge explained.
A request for comment from Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice K. Swift was not returned as of Tuesday afternoon.
Attorney Erin Mersino, who handled the case for TMLC, warned the U.S. Supreme Court cautioned against viewpoint discrimination in the schools, warning it creates “enclaves of totalitarianism.”
“The Constitution protects a student’s right to have a different viewpoint from others and share it within the walls of a public school,” said Mersino. “How else will students learn tolerance toward opinions to which they disagree or how to thrive in our pluralistic society?”
