Two pro-life students sue ECTA in Vegas after being censured for planning anti-abortion meeting
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: East Career and Technical Academy of Las Vegas is being sued by two pro-life students named Felipe Avila and Janelle Rivera. The duo served as president and vice president of Students For Life Club respectively, which advocates against abortion.
According to DailyMail, the duo is seeking compensatory and punitive damages blocking from enforcing its current club policies. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday, September 29 as the staff of the institute reportedly violated the First Amendment rights of the duo when they attempted to hang banners and hand out flyers for their Students For Life club.
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The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the students by the attorneys of the Thomas More Society which is a legal conservative group. Avila no longer attends the school, and it is unclear if Rivera remains a student there. The complaint stated that the school censored the club from posting flyers announcing the date, time, and location of its first meeting of the school year because the flyer depicted young people holding signs with pro-life messages like “I reject abortion."
According to Las Vegas Review-Journal, the lawsuit claimed that the school blocked the Students for Life Club from distributing flyers promoting a crisis pregnancy center. “That pervasive discrimination and censorship took numerous forms and was intended to, and successfully, suppressed the pro-life message of the (Students For Life Club),” the lawsuit read.
It further added that the institution blocked the club from publishing flyers outlining health code violations at Planned Parenthood in the school newspaper and further, blocked the club from hanging a banner that said “Students for Life. The Future is Anti-Abortion” in the school cafeteria. The lawsuit also stated, "'Students For Life' is a club that "seeks to educate and inspire ECTA students to advocate for life and to oppose abortion.""
The complaint also indicates the defendants, which includes the principal, did not do enough to stop cyberbullying against Avila. The lawsuit stated there were comments directed towards him which included "I’m gonna get an abortion just for you Felipe" and "I hope you rot in hell."
Avila is currently a student who attends the Catholic University of America and is the Chief Operating Officer of Blue Bird Cured, an organization dedicated to helping the well-being of elderly people. The state of Nevada has liberal abortion laws, which permit terminations up until 24 weeks gestation.
