Virginia Public School Tried to Stop Antiabortion Group from Forming

Freedom of speech and association cannot be taken for granted in the United States of America. A Stafford County, Virginia, public school attempted to deny an antiabortion group the right to form on school grounds.

Colonial Forge High School administrators rejected student Stephanie Hoffmeier's request to start The Pro-Life Club at the school because administrators said the club was not connected to the school's curriculum. On September 12, 2007 Hoffmeier with aid from the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed suit in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, saying that The Pro-Life Club could not be denied the right to free speech and to association when other clubs are allowed free speech and the right to associate on school grounds. Some other clubs offered at Colonial Forge High School include Key Club, SADD, the Young Democrats and the Young Republicans.

In response to the suit, school administrators recognized The Pro-Life Club on October 24, 2007. Then Hoffmeier dropped the suit.

Hoffmeier, who is 16 years old, submitted the proposal for the club at the end of the last school year. Her proposal said The Pro-life club was formed to educate people about the biggest holocaust that is going on in the United States; to come together and pray to end abortion; to be a voice for her generation and a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves and to encourage youth to abstain from sex while welcoming those who are pregnant.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that in 1998, 884,273 abortions were performed in the US. Most abortions -- about 95% according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) -- are done in the first three months of pregnancy, and the fetus is removed through a suction tube. But later in pregnancy, some form of surgery is required. In the fourth month or later, most doctors give the pregnant woman anesthesia and use instruments to cut up the fetus in his mother's womb and remove the fetal body parts through his mother's vagina. This procedure is known as "dilation and evacuation" or D & E.