In January 2023, three Christians were ordered by museum security to remove clothing and items expressing anti-abortion sentiments or be denied entry to the National Archives Museum in Washington, D.C.
One individual, who had just attended the annual March for Life, was told that their anti-abortion t-shirt “will incite others… You’re disturbing the peace.”
However, it was noted at the time that visitors with items expressing pro-abortion sentiments were allowed entry to the museum.
The National Archives Museum has since promised that such discrimination will not occur again after the three persons involved filed a lawsuit because their First Amendment to freedom of speech and religious expression were violated by the museum.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “The free speech of the anti-abortion movement is threatened in the United States as well as in the UK, where illiberal buffer zones have already resulted in several arrests, including for praying silently outside abortion facilities. Students and pro-life societies have also been targeted in recent years.
“As Calvin Robinson said at SPUC’s conference last year, pro-lifers must fight for free speech and defend the right to testify to the great wrong of abortion.
“In the aftermath of the repeal of Roe v. Wade, pro-abortion apologists have turned to censorious methods and even intimidation and violence to shut down opposing individuals and groups. It is important, more than ever before, that we stand up to these censors and make sure our voice is heard.”
