Oregon woman prevented from starting petition to protect life; State being sued

Oct 17, 2007 / 07:45 am

The Thomas More Law Center has filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Secretary of State and the Attorney General alleging that they improperly denied a citizen's request to circulate a petition that would amend the Oregon constitution to end abortion in the state.

Oregon citizen Kelley Le Claire proposed a human life amendment that would extend constitutional rights, including the right to life, to all human beings from the moment of fertilization.  If adopted by Oregon voters, the amendment would provide a direct challenge to the central holding of Roe v Wade by establishing personhood from the moment of fertilization as a matter of state constitutional law.

The lawsuit alleges the petition initiative was improperly denied in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and other state and federal statutory rights.

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel for the Thomas More Law Center, commented, “Frustrated by lack of action to confront Roe head-on at the national level, there is increasing pressure by grassroots, pro-life activists to initiate such action state by state.  This initiative petition is one such example.  The Thomas More Law Center is committed to supporting such efforts.  After 34 years of abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy, resulting in over 45 million dead babies, ‘wait’ is not an option.”