A federal lawsuit filed in May by Coalition Life seeks to break down unconstitutional, restrictive speech zones across the country. The suit positions pro-life advocates against the city of Carbondale, Illinois, where council members made an aggressive move to shut down pro-life sidewalk advocacy, voting unanimously to establish a buffer zone surrounding “health care” clinics in the area, including abortion facilities. Coalition Life seeks to reinstate free speech rights, as protected under the Constitution, and set a national precedent for pro-life sidewalk advocates.
Rolling Out the Red Carpet
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year, the city of Carbondale in southern Illinois has been rolling out the red carpet for abortion facilities. The town of around 22,000 residents welcomed its first abortion facility on Oct. 11, 2022, then a second not long after, and a third. A mega Planned Parenthood is currently under construction.
One city council member suggested in an email that abortion would be good for the hotel and restaurant business, generating more tax dollars for the city, said Brian Westbrook, Coalition Life’s executive director.
Carbondale has been lauded by leftists as the “abortion haven” of the southeast, but a steady resistance is disrupting industry profit.
Abortion-minded women driving from several hours away are responding to sidewalk counselors and turning around, said Westbrook. For these places of “death, deception, and confusion,” life advocates offer a powerful alternative. That’s bad for business.
“They’re not doing the business they thought they would do,” said Shawn Carney, co-founder
