WAUKEGAN, Ill., -- An escalating dispute between the proponents of an ethics awareness campaign and a waste management company hits a Lake County courtroom on Monday, April 11. Arguments will be presented in a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood business partner Stericycle against pro-life advocacy group Created Equal. The Thomas More Society, a national non-profit law firm, will represent Created Equal and its Executive Director Mark Harrington, against a temporary restraining order intended to stifle their message that Stericycle is "enabling" abortion giant Planned Parenthood to continue profiting by taking advantage of women and their preborn children.
WHAT: Arguments in the case of Stericycle, Inc., et al. v. Created Equal PAC, et al.
WHEN: Monday, April 11, 2016, 9 a.m. (CENTRAL)
WHERE: Lake County Courthouse, Courtroom C302, 18 North County Street, Waukegan, Illinois MAP:
WHO: Thomas More Society Special Counsel Peter Breen in defense of Created Equal, Mark Harrington, et al, before Judge Margaret Marcoullier of the Circuit Court for the 19th Judicial Circuit, Lake County, Chancery Division
Stericycle has taken objection to Created Equal's Project Weak Link initiative, which takes its cue from an abortionist's published statement that they are "one incineration company away from being closed." The Ohio Attorney General investigation of Planned Parenthood confirmed that the nation's largest abortion provider depends on Stericycle for disposal of aborted fetuses. Created Equal distributes informational literature that encourages the public to express their objections to Stericycle for its role enabling Planned Parenthood to continue performing abortions.
Thomas More Society Special Counsel Peter Breen will argue that Stericycle's attempt to censor the speech of Created Equal's leader and participants is a violation of the group's First Amendment right to free speech. Additionally, he will demonstrate that Stericycle's request for a temporary restraining order fails to satisfy any of the justifiable requirements necessary to issue one.
"The Supreme Court of the United States, in a case strikingly similar to this one, said that nobody has the right to be 'free from public criticism of his business practices in pamphlets or leaflets,'" explained Breen. He added that, "The irreparable harm of losing the ability to practice free speech for even minimal periods of time outweighs Stericycle's theoretical potential business reputational harm, both in the immediacy of a temporary restraining order and in the future."
Click on the links below to read the following documents:
Defendants' Opposition to Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary InjunctionDefendants' Motion to Dismiss Complaint Pursuant to Section 2-619.1 of the Illinois Code Of Civil ProcedureDeclaration of Mark Harrington (including the Ohio Attorney General's report "Planned Parenthood Investigation Summary Regarding Disposal of Aborted Fetuses")
