Anti-Abortion Group: Lawyers Demand Club Approval at Courtland High School

A Chicago law firm is arguing that Courtland High School should allow an anti-abortion club for students and has called for a decision from Principal Larry Marks by Nov. 21. If he fails to act, the firm’s attorneys will “pursue the matter in court,” according to a Nov. 11 letter to the school.

Spotsylvania County Public Schools (SCPS) released a statement Tuesday, saying the student’s club application is being reviewed and will be treated as would any other club proposal.

The principal has previously denied Courtland senior Maddie Sutherland’s application for an anti-abortion student group, claiming her application was incomplete.

The Thomas Moore Society, which represents Sutherland and national non-profit, pro-life organization Students for Life of America, claims Marks’s refusal to allow the group violates Sutherland’s First Amendment rights to free speech.

On Sep. 23, Sutherland contacted Principal Marks about her plans to start a pro-life club called Courtland Students for Life. On Oct. 10 she received a letter from Principal Marks denying her application because she did not provide a required list of the club’s proposed by-laws and because the club did not “bear a relationship to regular school curriculum” as is required of all proposed student groups, according to the statement from SPCS.

Sutherland resubmitted her application, including by-laws and a proposed constitution, on Oct. 24. Friday, Nov. 7, Principal Marks reportedly told Sutherland when she followed up about her application that he would call her into his office sometime this week to “fix things,” according to the Thomas Moore letter.

The only requirement Sutherland has not met, according to the letter, is describing how the pro-life club would relate to Courtland’s curriculum. Thomas Moore attorneys claim, however, that other school activities such as the equestrian club, the lacrosse club and the environmental club also do not bear resemblance to school curriculum. Yet, those groups are allowed to continue.

The law firm is accusing Principal Marks of violating the First Amendment and the Federal Equal Access Act, which states it is illegal for any public school that receives Federal funding to deny access to student meetings on the basis the meeting’s content, including political, religious, and philosophical speech.

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