Texas pro-life leader Mark Lee Dickson was vindicated in court Friday after three pro-abortion groups accused him of defamation.
The Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling in Dickson’s favor after two lower courts split on the matter of him describing the Lilith Fund, Afiya Center and Texas Equal Access Fund as “criminal organizations” and equating their abortion work to murder.
“An examination of the statements and their context shows no abuse of the constitutional right to freely speak,” Justice Jane Bland wrote. “[Dickson] didn’t urge or threaten violence, nor did he misrepresent the underlying conduct in expressing his opinions about it.”
Dickson, founder of the Sanctuary City for the Unborn initiative and director with Right to Life of East Texas, celebrated the news Friday, telling LifeNews: “I am thankful that the Supreme Court of Texas unanimously ruled that the First Amendment protects speech and advocacy in favor of ordinances that outlaw and criminalize the activities of Texas abortion funds. I will continue to be advocating for the criminal prosecution of Texas abortion funds and their donors, who have violated the state’s pre-Roe abortion statutes by aiding or abetting elective abortions in Texas.”
Texas law allows abortion groups to be prosecuted for aiding and abetting in abortions as well as abortionists who kill unborn babies.
The Lilith Fund, which shares its name with a demon, began years ago in Texas to provide money to help women abort their unborn babies. It also works to promote a “positive culture around abortion” and claims one of its main missions is compassion. The Afiya Center and Texas Equal Access Fund also promote killing unborn babies in abortions.
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In 2020 in two separate lawsuits, the pro-abortion groups accused Dickson of defamation and conspiracy.
At the center of the matter were comments that Dickson made referring to the killing of unborn babies in abortions as “murder.” He also described the groups’ abortion work as “criminal” based on pre-Roe v. Wade statutes in Texas that criminalized abortions.
At the time, Roe prohibited the state from enforcing the statutes, but they never were repealed. Now that Roe is gone, Texas law protects unborn babies from abortion again.
Here’s more from Bloomberg Law:
In oral arguments before the state’s top court in October, Dickson attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell argued the statements his client made were truthful because Texas prohibition, enacted before the US Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling established a constitutional right to the procedure, were never rescinded.
That was true, even before Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. overturned the right, Mitchell said. The attorney was also the architect of the Texas Heartbeat Act, which empowered private citizens to sue those who facilitate abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
The funds though, contended that a reasonable person would believe Dickson’s statements could be taken literally.
However, the Texas Supreme Court agreed with Dickson and his attorney, saying the pro-abortion groups failed to provide “evidence of defamation.” The court also warned against further lawsuits, saying such cases can have a “chilling effect” on individuals’ right to free speech.
Dickson has become widely known for his work on the Sanctuary City for the Unborn initiative, which encourages cities to adopt ordinances banning abortions.
To-date, 65 cities in Texas, Ohio, Nebraska, Louisiana, Iowa and New Mexico have passed ordinances to protect unborn babies from abortion. Some have resulted in abortion facilities relocating or being forced to stop aborting unborn babies.
