On average, about 5% of Students for Life of America (SFLA) groups nationwide report a free speech violation each year.  

And this year, we’re gearing up for a great semester for the pro-life movement and some anticipated opposition. With more than 1,500 college and high school groups, SFLA works around the clock to address obstacles to student speech, which commonly include the following free speech violations. 

The Theft and Vandalization of Displays and Signs 

Theft and vandalization of displays and signs are common violations, including chewing silicone fetal models, which happens more frequently than expected.  

In 2023, we had six fetal model chewing incidents. And no, it wasn’t stolen and chewed upon by a loose dog but rather by unhinged pro-abortion students who are attempting to make a statement – a very weird one, at that.  

Northeast Field Operations Coordinator Savannah Craven once made a display depicting the lives lost to Planned Parenthood, and students proceeded to steal fetal models and chew them up. Along with the gross and bizarre act came volatile actions. So much so Craven had to be escorted off Onondaga Community College’s campus. On another occasion, an SFLA student witnessed someone eating and swallowing a fetal model. If they’re trying to look like crazy, baby-killing supporters, they succeeded.  

A typical display that SFLA uses is the Cemetry of the Innocents, which uses a field of crosses to depict the lives taken by Planned Parenthood. Vandals trashed one of these displays at the University of Florida, even playing “hopscotch” between the crosses.  

Vandals never stop, but thankfully, neither do we. This hasn’t stopped us from hosting SFLA President Kristan Hawkins, SFLA Spokesperson, and other tabling on campuses – changing minds and hearts for life. 

A Heckler’s Veto 

A Heckler’s Veto occurs when a party disagrees with a speaker’s message so much that it attempts to silence them. One form of a heckler’s veto is when schools charge clubs excessive and discriminatory fees to prevent Students for Life events from occurring.  

Just last year, SFLA’s free speech was choked when an SFLA group at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was hit with discriminatory and excessive fees to host Hawkins’ “I’m Coming for Your Abortion Access” tour.  

“Before the event on October 17, the group was told in advance that they’d likely be paying $224 for security,” said SFLA Legal Operations Supervisor Olivia Torralba. “However, on the actual day of the event, the University Security department decided to assign more than a dozen officers to their event and send the Carolina Students for Life the bill, charging them a whopping $3,877.05. The final security invoice was more than 17 times the amount of the original security estimate.” 

SFLA fought this charge and continues to help other SFLA students demand First Amendment protections from public universities.  

A Slow Walk to Nowhere 

A slow walk to nowhere occurs when a pattern of delays in approving events or clubs creates a virtual veto of student speech.   

In August, SFLA student leader Jonathon Kreinberg detailed his experience of having a three-year delay in starting a club at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in the fall of 2021. 

“The hypocrisy of NJIT bureaucracies was quickly exposed when just weeks after our first rejection, an email was sent out to the whole university inviting students ‘passionate about health care equity and protecting reproductive rights’ to a Planned Parenthood prospective club event,” wrote Kreinberg. “The obscurity of this process has kept us in the shadows for too long, and we cannot allow this mess to continue.” 

Finally, NJIT Students for Life received recognition from their campus with the help of SFLA’s legal counsel. 

Viewpoint Discrimination by Rejecting Recognition of a Club 

Students in Missouri faced discrimination based on the content of the club’s viewpoint. SFLA Student Leaders Aidan Strobel and Jacob Barton wanted to start a group at Marquette High School but were met with blatant and open viewpoint discrimination.  

“Seeking help, we contacted SFLA’s Midwest Field Operations Coordinator Veronica Lamlech, and she helped us reach out to the Activities Director Adam Starling,” Strobel and Barton wrote. “When we emailed him, we received no response for days (keep in mind that this is his job), and when we followed up with him again, we finally got the following message: ‘After looking at the Students For Life website and talking to Dr. Waekerle [the building principal] about this matter, we feel like Marquette isn’t the right place for this group.’” 

Sounds like blatant (and documented) discrimination to us. Strobel and Barton also mention many religious and pop-culture organizations at the school, like the Gay-Straight Alliance and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Still, for some reason, they can’t have the pro-life viewpoint on campus.  

A Threat of Controversy Veto  

Another free speech violation that occurs on school campuses regarding SFLA groups is a threat of controversy veto, where club promotional materials are censored for fear of controversy.  

This year, a recent victory for SFLA was a lawsuit SFLA filed in September 2022 against ECTA and CCSD with student plaintiffs from ECTA Students for Life of America’s (SFLA) leadership team. According to Torralba, “ECTA Students for Life’s flyers, which said, ‘I reject abortion,’ were considered ‘too controversial’ by their public high school.” 

After settling with the school, ECTA will allow the same First Amendment protections as other school groups.  

If your pro-life group is experiencing discrimination on campus, email us at [email protected].  

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