Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Welcome to the TMS Weekly Dispatch, where you will find a digest of all things Thomas More Society, every Monday, bringing you in-the-know on the latest news and updates from the front lines.

Here’s a look back at the past week:

‍LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST PENNSYLVANIA’S REDEFINITION OF ‘SEX’: TMS Special Counsel Thomas King and Thomas Breth have filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC), challenging the state’s bureaucratic redefinition of ‘sex’ to include “gender identity and expression.” We are representing concerned parents and two school districts opposing this threat to girls’ and women’s sports, commonsense bathroom policies, and more.

JUDGE DENIED NY AG ATTEMPT TO HOLD RED ROSE RESCUE IN CONTEMPT: On March 10, TMS attorneys successfully defeated a contempt motion filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against peaceful pro-life advocates associated with Red Rose Rescue. “The evidence we provided in defense of Red Rose Rescue clearly demonstrated that that there was no violation of the injunction, including the bodycam footage showing that every claim of misconduct made by the AG’s two partisan witnesses was demonstrably false,” said Christopher Ferrara, TMS Senior Counsel.

‍HOMELAND SECURITY, TSA, AND OTHERS ADDED TO LAWSUIT DEFENDING MOTHER WHO SPOKE AGAINST GENDER IDEOLOGY IN SCHOOL: On behalf of New Jersey mother Angela Reading, TMS attorneys filed on March 12 a 91-page updated complaint in federal court, adding the Department of Homeland Security, TSA, and New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. The just-filed second amended complaint in Reading v. Duff adds new revelations about how federal national security and military officials targeted Angela for voicing publicly her concerns regarding posters about gender identity and “polysexuality” in her elementary-aged daughter’s school, for which she was branded a threat by local law enforcement and officials from a nearby military base.

‍FEDERAL JUDGE PAVES PATH TO KNOCKING DOWN WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY ANTI-SPEECH PROVISION: On March 14, a New York federal judge issued a court order and opinion allowing Thomas More Society’s continue challenging a provision of Westchester County, NY’s post-Dobbs pro-abortion law, which hinders pro-life sidewalk counseling. Importantly, the judge found that the County’s ban on non-physical “interference,” through “deceptive means or otherwise,” blatantly violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The judge agreed with Thomas More Society arguments that this provision of the county law bans sidewalk counseling, which must be allowed as First Amendment-protected activity—paving the way to a permanent injunction against that provision.

‍THOMAS MORE SOCIETY DEFENDS CHOOSE LIFE MARKETING AGAINST “DECEPTIVE PRACTICES” LAWSUIT: TMS attorneys are defending the pro-life marketing agency Choose Life Marketing against a lawsuit brought against them by an abortion facility, claiming that their work—standard marketing efforts—for a local pregnancy center, Abundant Hope, violates business law. On March 14, TMS attorneys filed a motion to dismiss Choose Life Marketing as a defendant in the case,  arguing that Choose Life Marketing’s activities were not deceptive or harmful and are protected by the First Amendment.

VIDEO: TMS CHALLENGES ZONING PERMISSION FOR ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS ABORTION FACILITY: Joan Mannix, TMS Executive Vice President and Managing Counsel, argued March 12 before the Illinois Appellate Court Fourth District in Shawn Rylatt v. Dr. Dennis Christensen. TMS attorneys represent Shawn Rylatt is this lawsuit challenging the legality of operating an abortion facility in a residential neighborhood in Rockford, IL. Rockford officials improperly permitted the abortion business to operate as a “home business” despite clear evidence Dr. Christensen’s operations are not allowed under the Rockford’s zoning laws.
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SUPREME COURT FRIEND-OF-THE-COURT BRIEF FILED: TMS attorneys filed an friend-of-the-court brief in Mahmoud v. Taylor on behalf of Protect Our Kids, Colorado Parents Advocacy Network, Protect Ohio Children Coalition, Nebraskans for Founders’ Values, and Texas Education 911, in support of parents in Maryland who are fighting back against the Montgomery County Board of Education for forcing pre-K and elementary-aged kids to read controversial books promoting a one-sided transgender ideology, encourage gender transitioning, and other inappropriate content. This case will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court in April, and parents’ rights and child protections hang in the balance.‍