A pro-life ministry won its legal battle against a North Carolina county after activists were arrested for praying outside an abortion clinic.
In March 2020, members with Love Life/Global Impact Ministries engaged in peaceful prayer outside of A Woman’s Choice abortion clinic. Police in Guilford County and Greensboro detained the individuals, alleging that they were not in compliance with COVID-19 restrictions.
Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) asserted that the arresting officers violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech and religious liberty and sued both counties.
While outside the clinic, Love Life made sure there were no more than 10 people present in its group and that they were spaced six feet apart. Activists adhered to the social distancing guidelines and carried hand sanitizer with them.
At the time of the arrests, county officials said they would stand by the seizure because activists traveled by car and not by foot from outside the county. They also claimed that the COVID order gave them the authority to prohibit all First Amendment activity.
Those restrictions were not found in the guidelines or in any law.
“The government can concern itself with health and safety and still respect the constitutionally protected freedoms guaranteed to citizens,” said ADF Senior Counsel Denise Harle, director of the ADF Center for Life. {eoa}
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