The U.S. Supreme Court may take up undercover journalist David Daleiden’s case against the National Abortion Federation, his attorneys announced Thursday.
In an email, the Thomas More Society said the high court plans to meet March 29 to discuss whether to review Daleiden’s appeal of the 9th Circuit Court gag order.
“This is HUGE news,” the attorneys said.
Daleiden was sued by the National Abortion Federation for releasing undercover videos that exposed Planned Parenthood’s trafficking of fetal body parts. Judge William Orrick and the 9th Circuit Court issued a gag order prohibiting Daleiden and his organization, the Center for Medical Progress, from releasing additional footage, Life News previously reported.
Life Legal Defense Foundation appealed, and petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the 9th Circuit Court decision.
In November 2017, the Supreme Court expressed interest in the case when it asked for additional information from the National Abortion Federation. Now, it has confirmed its interest by scheduling its conference meeting for March 29 to decide whether to review the case.
The Thomas More Society, which represented Daleiden in a similar lawsuit against California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, described their urgent need to prepare.
“We have two short weeks to make sure our attorneys are ready to go if the justices give the green light,” Thomas More Society President and Chief Council Tom Brejcha wrote in an email.
The gag order that the 9th Circuit placed on the Center for Medical Progress is unconstitutional based on past Supreme Court decisions, according to Daleiden’s attorneys. The Supreme Court previously decided that such gag orders and other forms of prior restraint are “the most serious and least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights.” It also ruled that prior restraint is particularly harmful “when the prior restraint falls upon the communication of news and commentary on current events.”
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Judge William Orrick, however, ruled that because Daleiden signed a required non-disclosure agreement with the National Abortion Federation, he relinquished his First Amendment free speech rights. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
This action was unprecedented; Katie Short, Life Legal’s Vice President of Legal Affairs, pointed out that this is the first time a federal appeals court maintained a gag order, even if it is agreed to by the parties involved, if the exposure of the information in question is in the public’s interest.
But it is certainly not in Planned Parenthood’s best interest to have these videos exposed. One video shows abortion chain Dr. Deborah Nucatola explaining how to “crush” the unborn baby to harvest his or her organs intact. Several others expose the extensive revenue that Planned Parenthood receives from the trafficking the body parts.
Brejcha noted: “At the end of the day, the National Abortion Federation, Planned Parenthood and their allies will appeal every decision in our favor until they find judges who will rubberstamp their abortion agenda. Which means it’s absolutely critical we have the resources in place to keep defending David.”
