A federal judge has blocked a new Illinois law that allows the state to penalize anti-abortion counseling centers if they use deception to interfere with patients seeking the procedure.
This article is frustratingly vague on what the judge actually did. Probably because it’s not nearly as clickbaity. The judge has blocked enforcement of the new law until the lawsuit has been resolved. Given the 1st amendment implications that’s the right call for the judge to make even if the law is ultimately upheld.
Let’s preface this with… “I dunno” cuz I’m not from Illinois and don’t know the actual text of the law.
However, if the law is indeed going after deceptive practices in clinics to prevent people from seeking medical care…
That should already be a crime.
I’m no lawyer, but I don’t think the first amendment gives you the right to lie to people with no consequences
Sadly, it mostly does. There are exceptions, and being that this is related to medical care, it may be one of them.
it absolutely doesn’t.
Especially when you represent yourself as an expert or medical professional.
what these clinics are doing is medical fraud and malpractice… for the purpose of preventing women from getting lawful access to medical care. It’s downright vile… and 50k fines is not enough. There should be jailtime.It grants you the right to lie as long as you aren’t violating an existing law. Regardless of job position or standing
deleted by creator
The first amendment is a limit on government power rather than a grant of individual rights. Consequently, lying is protected speech under most circumstances.
“most circumstances” that don’t involve defrauding others for some reason.
For example, if these anti-abortion clinics are pretending to be abortion clinics and then lying about the services they provide- or the nature of those services, which they don’t even provide- to try and convince people not to get abortions…
that is fraud. and it constitutes harm. and absolutely should be treated as such.
another ‘its not actually protected’ that’s relevant is if they’re just telling absolute horror stories about, for example, women who regret having the abortion, or playing up severe complications while insisting they are in fact experts.
both are things anti-abortion clinics have done. I’m not saying these in particular are, but I’m not going to be terribly surprised to find they’re not
I’m only commenting on how the first amendment should be interpreted when it comes to lying per se.
but this isn’t about lying. this is about lying to prevent people who are seeking medical care from obtaining said medical care.
“Oh it’s okay they’re just lying” is an absurdity. they’re committing fraud, probably, and the new law seeks to address this because that this particular fraud is enough a problem that it needed it’s own law.
at least, that’s my outsider’s take on it.
My comments here are about lying per se and whether they’re protected speech.
It depends on what these “clinics” entail. For example, if they charge money, existing fraud laws should cover it.
It’s always frustrating when these cases end up in the hands of Trump-appointed judges. More often than not they’re ruling based on their ideology rather than the law.
I think you are underestimating the significance of the ruling. In cases like this, judges issue temporary injunctions if they believe the law will most likely be found unconstitutional when the lawsuit is resolved. The judge described the law as a “blatant violation of the 1st Amendment”, indicating that he will most likely issue a permanent injunction later.
So it’s only the “right call” if you agree with him. And if it matters to anyone, this judge is a Trump appointee.
So it’s only the “right call” if you agree with him.
No. It’s perfectly reasonable to at once support women’s rights over their own bodies but also see serious first amendment questions in this sort of law.
A similar law that targeted abortion providers would be similarly problematic. If you don’t see it that way then you aren’t looking at the question from the perspective of the first amendment.
Then you agree with him.
If the question is whether a preliminary injunction is appropriate, then yes. A preliminary injunction preserves the status quo while the case is decided. Since the the law plausibly infringes the plaintiffs’ first amendment rights, the proper judicial decision is to preserve the status quo. This is the general rule applied to all cases of this nature and should not be construed as evidence of bias by the judge.
Really, my point in commenting has more to do with calling out the AP for sensationalist reporting than with the merits of the case being reported on.
A preliminary injunction is appropriate if the plaintiffs are very likely to succeed. Otherwise you or I could block any new law by endlessly “preserving the status quo” with a stream of lawsuits.
So if you think that the preliminary junction is appropriate, then you must agree with the judge that the law very likely violates the First Amendment.
On the face of it, it probably does. Whether it actually does will require a careful legal analysis of the law’s intent, scope, and whether there are alternatives that the state could have used.
This does not mean I approve of the plaintiffs’ speech. This does not mean I disapprove. It means that I value the first amendment and understand it, and so do not see a problem in how it’s been applied in this case so far.
I’m discussing technicalities not arguing the merits of their case. If that’s not the sort of discussion you’re interested in then I suggest you find someone else.
I understand the technicalities.
I am simply pointing out that a preliminary injunction is not issued by routine in cases like this. Therefore, it is newsworthy rather than “clickbait”.
Furthermore, it strongly indicates how the case will ultimately be decided. So if you agree with the injunction, then you should agree with the plaintiffs in this case. If you disagree with the plaintiffs, then you have good reason to disagree with the injunction. Therefore, some people are rightfully very concerned about this news.
That is all. I am not interested in arguing the merits, either.
Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m not sure what you mean.
It’s common in lawsuits such as this for one party to make a motion to block enforcement of the law pending the results of the case. In extreme cases, the judge may grant such an injunction. This all seems straightforward to me. Frankly, the title pretty much gives away the whole article, which is the opposite of what happens with clickbait.
In the entire article, there’s only one sentence that even implies the decision isn’t a final ruling.
U.S. District Judge Iain Johnston said Thursday the new law “is painfully and blatantly a violation of the First Amendment.”
That’s not a final ruling, but it absolutely telegraphs the final ruling.
