Petition for Writ of Certiorari Filed in E.D. v. Noblesville School District 

“This Indiana case represents a typical abuse of students’ free-speech rights,” said Students for Life’s Kristan Hawkins. “Administrators will throw up roadblocks for pro-life clubs because they don’t want pro-life speech in schools, fearing that some may find it controversial. Our petition will focus on an attempted ban on ‘political’ speech. Free speech rights you can’t use don’t exist. We are not going to forget about our students’ rights or ignore attempts to silence them, no matter how long it takes.”

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WASHINGTON D.C. (1-28-2026) – In the on-going, multi-year defense of a student who had to fight to start a Students for Life of America (SFLA) club,SFLA President Kristan Hawkins announced that legal action in defense of an Indiana high school student’s free speech rights was headed to the Supreme Court. Attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a petition for writ of certiorari in E.D. v. Noblesville School District. This case began after Noblesville School District wrongly denied pro-life high school student E.D. the ability to advocate for the preborn by censoring flyers that contained pictures of pro-life advocates holding “Defund Planned Parenthood” placards. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld this censorship in 2025, E.D., her family, and Noblesville Students for Life have filed a petition for writ of certiorari for the case to be heard by SCOTUS. 

In this case, attorneys note: “All E.D. sought to do was post flyers—like all other club leaders could do—for an extracurricular club meeting she worked hard to organize. Her free-speech rights shouldn’t depend on the circuit where she attends school. The Court should grant the petition and provide needed unifor­mity on an issue of obvious national importance.”

“Students don’t lose their constitutionally protected freedom of speech when they walk into a school building. A school can’t tell a high-school student or student organization that they can’t publicly express pro-life messages that are important to them,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch. “While other student groups at the school were free to express their messages, the school censored this club’s flyers and then revoked the club’s recognition because the messages on the flyers were too overtly pro-life.”

ON THE BACKSTORY:

Minor student E.D. bravely sought justice in 2021 after her high school in Indiana’s Noblesville School District refused her the right to start a Students for Life organization on campus. While the school hosted other openly political clubs, such as Young Democrats and Gender and Sexuality Alliance, administrators refused to let her and other students advocate for the preborn after she met registration requirements and even showed them materials from Students for Life of America. 

While attempting to start a pro-life club on campus, E.D. faced the following acts of discrimination and retribution: 

• Repeated rejections of requests to hang a flyer with club meeting information, including photos showing pro-lifers holding “Defund Planned Parenthood” placards.  
• School official telling her the school was “dancing on eggshells.” 
• Denied the opportunity to promote to her fellow students important and irreplaceable educational and career opportunities in pro-life activism, such as the March for Life or the National Pro-Life Summit, during a unique historical time approaching the fall of Roe v. Wade. 

WHY THE CASE MATTERS:

Public schools should teach students how to engage with each other on important issues, not discipline them for so-called “political” speech. After working hard to establish Noblesville Students for Life on her high school campus, E.D. asked administrators for approval to post two flyers advertising the club’s first meeting. The over 70 other student groups also had the ability to display such flyers in certain areas of the school. Administrators denied her request, pointing to the flyers’ pictures with pro-lifers holding “Defund Planned Parenthood” signs. According to one administrator, the school was “dancing on eggshells” regarding potentially controversial issues. 

Two courts upheld this censorship, reasoning that someone might mistakenly believe the student-club flyers were endorsed by the school, even though the club was student-run and initiated. Schools aren’t First Amendment-free zones. Students—just like everyone else—have the freedom to discuss important topics. 

READ MORE HERE: Students for Life of America (SFLA) calls Judge’s Noblesville School District decision “an Insult to Parents that Weakens First Amendment Protections,” Additional Legal Steps Under Consideration

AND HERE: SFLA Wins Bid to Keep Free Speech Lawsuit in Place Against Noblesville High School

AND HERE: Pro-Life Indiana High Schooler Files Lawsuit, Makes Shocking Allegations

For interviews, contact  [email protected] 

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The Pro-Life Generation is an umbrella organization encompassing the most-cutting edge engagement opportunities for a Vote Pro-Life First Community. PLG includes Students for Life Action, a 501c4, along with its 501c3 sister organization, Students for Life of America. Together, these organizations make up America’s largest pro-life youth organization. The PLG manages a grassroots political and policy operation engaging Americans of all ages but with a special emphasis on the largest segment of voters — the youth vote. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA, PLG/SFLA/SFLAction serves more than 1,600 groups on middle school, high school, college, medical, and law school campuses in all 50 states. Our team has more conversations with this generation targeted by the abortion lobby than any other pro-life operation in the world. Each week, we reach more than 10 million accounts across social media platforms and average 6 million video views. The organization’s CEO, Kristan Hawkins, hosts a bi-weekly, informative podcast, The Kristan Hawkins Show. In addition to SFLA/SFLAction, PLG leads multiple initiatives to lead and serve the future of the pro-life movement, including the Campaign for Abortion Free Cities, Standing With You, and the Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement.