Florida Student Pro-Life Club Finally Wins Recognition

The new “Sharks 4 Life” club at Gulf Coast High School in Naples, Florida held its first official event this week, after school and district officials relented from their refusal to grant official recognition to the pro-life club. The school originally denied the application because the pro-life club, whose subject matter included abortion, was deemed “too political” and “controversial.”
You may recall from The Daily Citizen’s earlier coverage of this controversy that a young student named Gabrielle Gabbard approached the school administration with a request back in August to form a student pro-life club that would be affiliated with the national Students for Life organization. Gabbard and her faculty advisors were not only refused, but the faculty advisors were allegedly threatened with termination if they persisted in helping Gabbard.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) sent the school and school district a letter explaining that such action violated not only the First Amendment’s free speech clause, but also the federal Equal Access Act.
The good news is that the school then agreed to recognize the club and certified a faculty advisor for it. That resulted in the new club’s event this week, which is a victory for Ms. Gabbard and her club, as well as for the First Amendment.
In a press statement, ADF attorney Michael Ross said, “The First Amendment protects every student’s freedom of speech and expression. Public school officials also can’t play favorites when approving student organizations or refuse to recognize a student organization for being too ‘political’ or ‘controversial,’ especially when they have rightfully approved a whole host of other clubs formed around religious, political and social interests.”
But the controversy is not completely settled, because while the school granted the club official recognition, it imposed a requirement it does not impose on other non-curricular clubs: the club must get school approval for any information it wants to distribute, and the school may refuse to allow—at its sole discretion—any information it decides it doesn’t like.
As ADF explained in a second letter to the school principal, such censorship is also unconstitutional and a violation of the Equal Access Act. There’s been no word yet on whether the school intends to go forward with its threat to censor Sharks 4 Life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bruce Hausknecht, J.D., is an attorney who serves as Focus on the Family’s judicial analyst. He is responsible for research and analysis of legal and judicial issues related to Christians and the institution of the family, including First Amendment freedom of religion and free speech issues, judicial activism, marriage, homosexuality and pro-life matters. He also tracks legislation and laws affecting these issues. Prior to joining Focus in 2004, Hausknecht practiced law for 17 years in construction litigation and as an associate general counsel for a large ministry in Virginia. He was also an associate pastor at a church in Colorado Springs for seven years, primarily in worship music ministry. Hausknecht has provided legal analysis and commentary for top media outlets including CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS Radio, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, the Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and BBC radio. He’s also a regular contributor to The Daily Citizen. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. Hausknecht has been married since 1981 and has three adult children, as well as three adorable grandkids. In his free time, Hausknecht loves getting creative with his camera and capturing stunning photographs of his adopted state of Colorado.