A federal court ruled Thursday that officials with McSwain Union Elementary School, in Merced, Calif., violated the rights of Tiffany Amador when they barred her from wearing a pro-life T-shirt in April 2008.
Amador wore a pro-life T-shirt, as part of a National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day.
The shirt displayed the word “ABORTION” over a series of panels, two displaying pictures of a developing preborn child and the third panel was black. The caption read, “Growing … growing … gone.”
As a result, the attorney said that Amador was taken to the office and told she couldn’t wear the shirt. Her attorney argued that the incident violated her right of expression (First Amendment), her freedom from unreasonable search and seizure (Fourth Amendment) and her right of equal protection (14th Amendment).
“School officials felt that the pictures (of a preborn child) were too graphic in nature,” said Amador’s attorney, William Becker. “But, they could never explain what they meant by ‘graphic.’”
He called it a victory for the right to speak out against abortion.
“Public school students are not forbidden from proclaiming the value of life under the First Amendment,” he said. “Student speech, at all grade levels, is protected by the First Amendment. With few exceptions, such as profanity and lewdness, the Constitution prohibits school officials from picking and choosing what messages they find acceptable and what messages they find unacceptable. “
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