Federal court rules for pro-lifers fighting ordinance to block sidewalk counselors

A federal court in New York awarded pro-life sidewalk counselors a significant victory, ruling that their constitutional rights were violated by a county law aimed at silencing pro-lifers outside abortion facilities.

Key Takeaways:

• A federal court ruled that an ordinance in Westchester County, New York, which attempted to silence pro-life speech, was unconstitutional.

• The plaintiffs, who had asked for only nominal damages, were awarded $1.

• Attorneys plan to challenge another portion of the ordinance, which prohibits “following and harassing.”

The Details:

In an August 12 ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of Oksana Hulinsky and Regina Molinelli, two pro-lifers who were unable to provide sidewalk counseling outside abortion facilities in Westchester County for several years due to a county ordinance which restricted pro-life activity near abortion businesses.

Represented by the Thomas More Society, the duo filed their lawsuit, Hulinsky v. County of Westchester, in 2022, claiming that the county’s law prohibiting “interference” outside abortion facilities was unconstitutional. As Thomas More Society reports, the ordinance “imposed a litany of severe restrictions on speech and assembly near abortion facilities, intending to restrict pro-life sidewalk counseling ministries in public spaces.” The law firm notes that “the county has since repealed or amended a number of those provisions in response to the Thomas More Society lawsuit.”

In its ruling, the Court agreed that the county’s actions in which it “criminalized large swaths of protected speech” were unconstitutional. Because the plaintiffs were seeking “nominal damages” in the case, the court awarded them $1.

Though the ruling is considered a victory, Thomas More Society said that it intends to appeal a prior court’s ruling that upheld a provision on “following and harassing,” noting that “the law vaguely defines [this] as ignoring an ‘implied request to cease’ on a public sidewalk.”

The Bottom Line:

“This ruling sends a powerful message to municipalities nationwide: vague laws targeting pro-life speech will not stand,” said Christopher Ferrara, Senior Counsel at the Thomas More Society.

“Westchester County’s pro-life sidewalk counselors seek only to offer compassionate, life-affirming alternatives on public sidewalks—as is their First Amendment right. Westchester’s arrogant overreach tried to silence their voices, but this decision helps reaffirm their constitutional freedom to share the pro-life message.”

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