The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that students could not distribute two-inch rubber fetus dolls with an attached pro-life message on a New Mexico high school campus, finding that the distribution violated school policy requiring the principal’s approval to engage in promotional activities. The court held that distributing the dolls “reasonably forecasted….substantial disruption.” (JURIST, April 10, 2013, by Brandon Gatto)
In fact, the Goddard High School students used the dolls in ways that disrupted the school by stuffing them down toilets and dousing them in hand sanitizer and setting them on fire. (Education Week, April 8, 2013, by Mark Walsh)
Another student in Minnesota, sixth graders Annie Zinos is on firmer grounds in protesting that school officials kept her from sharing pro-life literature with classmates, writes Charles C. Haynes of the First Amendment Center, May 2, 1013. While students complained about the pro-life message, the administration could not show disruption. -db