Breaking: Federal judge dismisses abortion clinic’s lawsuit against pro-life group for video parody
Read my previous posts on this here and here.
In January 2011 the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform posted what it called “the most shocking 4-minute abortion debate you will ever see.”
CBR juxtaposed a video produced by Northland Family Planning Centers touting “the goodness” of abortion with video cuts showing the reality of abortion.
Northland is a late-term abortion chain of 3 mills in Michigan that aborts babies up to 24 weeks old. CBR merely showed what those abortions look like.
But Northland did not appreciate CBR’s unauthorized use of its video and sued, going so far as to hire high-powered Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, the largest intellectual property law firm in the United States, to represent its case.
Last Friday Judge James Selna, of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Santa Ana) dismissed Northland’s lawsuit, ruling in favor of CBR, which was represented by the American Freedom Law Center.
The obvious intent of CBR’s video was parody and critique, which is protected use of copyrighted material under the U.S. Fair Use trademark law.
Judge Selna got that, writing in his opinion:
[CBR] turn[s] the Northland Video’s message “on its head” by alternating clips of the calm, empathetic doctor explaining that choosing to have an abortion does not make you a bad woman, with shockingly graphic images of fetuses being dismembered and removed from the birth canal. For example, in the beginning of the [CBR] Videos, a clip from the Northland Video plays in which the narrator says, “to have an abortion is a normal decision”; then, the screen cuts to a video clip in which it appears that a fetal hand reaches out of the birth canal and gloved fingers – ostensibly those of a doctor – expose more of the hand before using forceps to rip off the appendage. Of course, [CBR’s] abundantly clear message is that deciding to have an abortion is anything but a “normal decision”….
Here is CBR’s video that Northland sued to censor from public view (and YouTube removed). WARNING: Graphic….
In AFLC’s press release Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi observed, “This case is yet another example of abortionists trying to hide the stark reality that they are engaged in the business of killing human life for profit. CBR’s video effectively and metaphorically forces open the door to the abortion clinic and allows the viewer to decide whether they are going to believe what they hear or what they see – with their own eyes. Abortionists can spin the facts, but the camera records the truth.”
AFLC Senior Counsel Robert Muise commented, “This is an important ruling. It sends a clear message to other abortionists and their complicit lawyers that this tactic of trying to silence the pro-life message through vexatious litigation will not work. CBR’s video effectively exposes the lies and deception of the Northland video, and it will continue to do so thanks to this ruling.”
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Wow, a judge ruled in a way that made sense. My faith in the judiciary is restored.
I call this the QB Seven effect (after the book by Leon Uris). Want to use euphemism to describe something? Go ahead. The truth will come out in court.
Abortion is the removal of a clump of cells, right pro-aborts? So what’s the big deal if someone shows the public a video of it, given that we see bloody surgeries on TV all the time? Information: the enemy of the abortion movement.
Next step is to go after the mill for attorney’s fees, because their lawsuit was completely baseless.
CBR and Gregg Cunningham won a huge victory for the whole movement!!!
God have mercy on us.
Thank you for posting, Jill. This was a huge victory for the pro-life movement and for the unborn.
AFLC
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanFreedomLaw
Score one for free speech!
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”(Heb 4:13)
That is why we at CBR are committed to showing many the truth of what abortion is. The success of the prochoice position is dependent on the public’s denial that abortion kills children. The pictures are a devastating challenge to this denial.
And to think Larry Flynt’s “Flynt v. Falwell” helped make this decision possible. Who would have thought that Larry Flynt’s free speech victory would have helped in this case?
That video was SO hard to watch. My heart hurts way too much for these babies. I will be a part of making this stop!
I am upset every time I see these videos. I see my baby in the faces and bodies of those murdered babies and it just rips my heart to pieces. God have mercy on us and make it stop!!!!
Sydney M says:
June 18, 2012 at 4:18 pm
I am upset every time I see these videos. I see my baby in the faces and bodies of those murdered babies and it just rips my heart to pieces. God have mercy on us and make it stop!!!!
(Denise) In your opinion, what can be done to ensure that the women who get pregnant are the ones prepared to carry to term?
Denise – maybe just show them the above video?
Ah, yes. Guilt trip them into keeping a pregnancy they’re not emotionally or financially prepared for by showing them a video that isn’t even representative of the vast majority of abortion procedures. (Why don’t any of these “pro-life” propaganda videos ever show abortions performed during the very early stages of pregnancy? Why do they always depict late-term abortions?)
Denise –
Love and Support…financial, material (baby supplies is one example, including cribs, baby clothes, diapers) and spiritual support (if requested). Offering to be there at doctor’s appointments, too. The financial support would include helping pay for grocieries or rent or car repairs. Also, helping with education like getting a GED if they dropped out of high school. These are some of the ways that pro lifers HELP women so they DO NOT CHOOSE the quick and easy path that often times WILL lead to regret.
joan, propaganda is not a word for views you disagree with. Oh and the term is pro-life, not “pro-life”.
Ah, yes. Guilt trip them into keeping a pregnancy they’re not emotionally or financially prepared for by showing them a video that isn’t even representative of the vast majority of abortion procedures.
Ummmm….we don’t keep pregnancies. I’m not STILL pregnant after 9 years. I do, however, have a 9 year old daughter. I kept HER, not a pregnancy. A pregnancy doesn’t die in an abortion.
Joan, there are first-trimester abortion videos out there. I’ve seen one, linked from this very website.
That’s actually the most disturbing one I’ve seen, for whatever reason.
If nothing but tissue is removed in an abortion, then showing videos of abortion is no more of a “guilt trip” than showing videos of appendectomies. If this video is likely to cause guilt, then the reasons for that guilt should be more thoroughly explored by anyone thinking about abortion.
Pick a narrative. Either abortion isn’t a big deal or it is. It can’t be both at once.
“Joan, there are first-trimester abortion videos out there. I’ve seen one, linked from this very website.”
Sure they’re “out there”, in the sense that you could find them if you looked, but when do you ever see protesters or “truth trucks” parading them around in public? Rarely if ever. These people would much rather (mis)represent abortion by presenting extremely rare examples of it as the rule rather than the exception. That’s dishonest, but I’ve come to expect dishonesty from this movement.
“If nothing but tissue is removed in an abortion, then showing videos of abortion is no more of a “guilt trip” than showing videos of appendectomies.”
How many times have I had to shoot this “argument” down? It doesn’t matter whether the practical effect of something is to cause guilt. It’s the intent that defines its quality as a “guilt trip” or not. Your argument is as dumb as taking a piece of Soviet or Nazi propaganda, for example, and then claiming that because it has no truth value and no one would fall for it today, it simply cannot be defined as propaganda, even though it was designed specifically for that purpose.
Just stages of development, joan. You know, like my 14 yr. old daughter doesn’t really look much like she did when she was 9 mos. and then a 2 yr. old. Maybe you’re just uncomfortable with people actually watching what is legal, yet evil, in this country.
You can’t argue that relative stages of development are irrelevant when your movement overwhelmingly or even exclusively prefers one over the others for use in its imagery. And if the “pro-life” movement is willing to misrepresent that aspect of abortion for its ends, what other things is it willing to misrepresent?
As I seem to recall, watching Dr. Nathanson’s Silent Scream film, that fetus was in the first trimester. If your movement is so uncomfortable w/ the pro-life movement showing late-term abortions, then why won’t your movement rally and try to have 1st trimester abortions shown? Wouldn’t you want the truth shown?
I’m not quite sure what exactly is dishonest here. Abortions at the stage shown are legal in this country and the clinic in question does perform abortions up to 24 weeks. I really don’t think the fact that most abortions overall occur before this point is all that relevant.
The abortion clinic in my state only does abortions to 16 weeks and I’ve never seen anything other than first-trimester pictures here.
So much for trying to mislead.
Joan the troll says:
How many times have I had to shoot this “argument” down?
Joan, you have NEVER sucessfully “shot down this argument”. And by the way, when you use the word “propaganda” you no doubt know that of which you speak. The only thing your side has is propaganda because the truth is not in you.
Doe says:
June 18, 2012 at 8:02 pm
As I seem to recall, watching Dr. Nathanson’s Silent Scream film, that fetus was in the first trimester.
(Denise) “The Silent Scream” was of a first trimester abortion.
Joan, truth trucks have shown photos of seven week abortions. A tiny, tiny hand on the gloved finger of a pro-lifer. A shredded face with two tiny eyes staring back. Yes, we do show early abortion photos. What rock have you been under?
And we will continue to show late term abortion photos and videos. BECAUSE IT IS LEGAL to abort them at that age and it happens every single day in this country! And you support it.
Denise, we will never be able to prevent pregnancy in women who don’t want to carry to term. Birth control fails. I have a 5 year old son who is proof of that. I just read the blog of a woman who got pregnant a few months after a tubal ligation. I know it is rare but it happens! Nothing but abstinence is fool-proof.
But I have personally seen women who were woefully unprepared for motherhood who got pregnant despite birth control or because they flat out refused to use it (even though they didn’t want a baby) and in these cases I watched my friends carry babies to term and blossom into strong, capable women. They overcame obstacles and found a strength they never knew they would have. Sometimes “unplanned” pregnancies can lead to the greatest joy. Difficulties in life can teach us to have great strength. We imagine that life will always be a bed or roses and that life will always go according to our plan and don’t we all agree, it just ain’t so?
I think what we need to do is be there to help $ and love women who have unplanned pregnancies in crisis situations. Most women will carry to term if shown love and support.
@Joan:
Congratulations lady. You and your ilk have just proven yourselves to be the ultimate most DESENSITIZED people on the planet. Deny deny deny.
It isn’t working anymore. The ugly truth of what you hold so dear is out for everyone to see. Get used to it.
I so grieve for people like the woman who did the video… no floor, no layer of soil will be low enough for her to climb down to, she will be so grieved by the evil of her words in this video. I can imagine God cueing it up and playing it before her, and she will not be able to justify it in His sight. Prayer is on our side, folks – and our prayer is that those who now defend abortion will come and join us. Any prayer said by a pro-abortion person can only be answered by silence or refusal (of sanction for their cause) from our Lord.
Wow, I certainly missed a lot of excitement today!
Joan (since you originally seem to have been addressing my comment about the video), I have seen plenty of images of first-trimester abortions on this site. And the comments from pro-choicers? “You are guilt-tripping people!” “The photos are fake!” “The photos are staged!” (because someone photographed a tiny fetus’ hand against a dime to show its actual size). And on and on and on. You probably wrote some of those comments yourself. Pro-choicers are never satisfied with ANY representation of pregnancy we put forward, and you know you never will be. Any evident of the truth about what you support disturbs you, doesn’t it?
Lord have mercy on us. Witnessing the deeds of these monsters is horrifying. It is the worst kind of snuff video. They would put a person in prison if they did this to a dog or cat. wt!
2nd and 3rd trimester abortions are NOT rare in America, given that it has the most unregulated abortion industry in the world. They are “rare” compared to the astronomical number of first trimester abortions, but that does not change the fact 18,000 late term unborn children are killed every year. Abortionists such as Ron Fitzsimmons have admitted that the vast majority of these abortions are performed on healthy fetuses with healthy mothers.
However, the accusation that pro-lifers don’t care about younger unborn children is absurd. I took 2 seconds to look at the CBR website (the folks who created this video) at their abortion photos, and the entire first page was filled with photos of victims from first trimester abortions.
The link below shows what a child in the first trimester looks like. It is very, very bizarre that in 2012, pro-aborts keep insisting that a young fetus is a “clump of cells.” But hey, maybe those conservative fascists at BBC are just peddling anti-choice propaganda.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3847319.stm
I’ve said it already, and I’ll say it again: information is the enemy of the abortion movement.
Abortion in the US at least has a legal framework putting some scrap of controls on it. Canada has nothing to stop abortion right up to birth, just like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. I’m ashamed of my national government’s ignorance of who they’re allowing Canada to be in the company of!
Still waiting for those “authentic pictures,” so where are they?
ninek says:
June 19, 2012 at 3:13 am
Still waiting for those “authentic pictures,” so where are they?
(Denise) Follow the link I gave to a 5 week old fetus. Obviously, having that torn to shreds is not going to be pretty even though it is not completely “formed.”
Good grief Joanie. Is it so hard to imagine a tiny human being all chopped up into pieces? YOU used to be in the first trimester!!
Here are some photos while we wait for you authentics.
http://www.priestsforlife.org/resources/photosbyage/index.htm
Hi Geoff,
There is hope and healing for those so deceived in the abortion industry. We need to pray them all out!!
There is hope and healing for those that have aborted. It is my passion and heart’s desire to reach out to them with the hope that God gives in His son Jesus. God drew me to Himself after my abortion. There is forgiveness and freedom after abortion!!!!
Rachel’s Vineyard
http://www.rachelsvineyard.org
This is Phillip. He was miscarried at 12 weeks. A perfectly formed human being. Tiny hands, feet, arms and legs.
Imagine him all chopped up into pieces Joan.
http://www.priestsforlife.org/resources/development/baby-phillip.htm
It doesn’t matter whether the practical effect of something is to cause guilt. It’s the intent that defines its quality as a “guilt trip” or not.
That’s absolute garbage. Causing guilt is one of those scenarios where intent doesn’t matter. People feel guilty in response to all kinds of things, most of them not intended to cause guilt. If no one could do anything that might make somebody, somewhere feel guilty over something, nobody would ever do anything at all. Intent, in this case, is irrelevant.
Effect, on the other hand, is not. If abortion is not a big deal, films of it not only wouldn’t cause anyone to feel guilty, they would reassure anyone who was on the fence about whether abortion is okay or not. “Okay, that’s what that looks like, I don’t need to worry anymore.” You seem to think they do the opposite: pull people on the fence away from abortion. “Ohmigosh, that’s what that looks like?!? That’s awful and I don’t want to have anything to do with it!” That is not the effect that you can expect from seeing something that isn’t a big deal. Which brings me back to the original point: if abortion isn’t a big deal, showing videos like this won’t cause any guilt to people wanting to have one. If showing videos like this does cause guilt, then the reasons for that need to be seriously explored.
So, again, pick a narrative: it’s a big deal or it isn’t. You can not have it both ways.
Oh Geoff, I’m from Canada as well and I’m absolutely ashamed of our government. It’s pretty bad when even Sweden has strictly abortion laws than us. (of course, our laws are literally non-existent).
The fetus is fully “formed” at the 10th week of pregnancy which is in the 1st trimester.
The “buds” for the arms and legs can be viewed in a 5 week fetus.
Can well all agree on the following?
The later in the pregnancy, the more horrible an abortion will look.
However, at no point does it appear attractive.
How about we agree that no matter how an abortion looks, it shouldn’t be legal to have one or perform one since it’s the act of killing a child. Even if it looked as pretty as a unicorn farting a rainbow, it’d STILL be wrong, because it’d still kill a gestating child.
I will agree with that Xalisae.
Abortion proponents often use the rape case for emotional appeal. Abortions at 20+ weeks happen about as often. So I don’t see how it’s any worse for pro-lifers to show images of late-term abortions.
And another thing. I’m not as much of a veteran to this site as some, but I’m sure this has been proposed before by someone somewhere. If abortion is so “normal”, why not make it the norm for teens learning about sexual intercourse (seeing pictures of penises and vaginas in 7th grade Science texts) and SHOW them pictures of abortion. Why not show “Silent Scream”??? For bleep sake, my 5th grader saw these video photos of genitalia!
We need a bumper sticker, if it hasn’t already been made, “NO KILLING HUMANS IN THE WOMB!!!”
Doe,
Totally agreed!! No one should graduate without seeing the truth of what an abortion does to an innocent, preborn human being!!
Thanks, Carla. Enough is enough. Teens are exposed to so much now. Why not abortion?
I love Michigan: The place where abortion centers sue satirists to permanently suppress their 1st Amendment Free Speech rights and a lawmaker puts on a showing of Vagina Monologue on the Capitol steps because the House leadership censured her for 2 days for implying the Speaker was trying to “rape” her with abortion industry regulations. Yessirree, Rep. Lisa Brown, nothing like glorifying lesbian seductions of 13 year old girls (as Vagina Monologues does) to prove your point.
In my wildest imaginings, I will never understand the “logic” behind pro-abort thought processes.
Barb,
That makes you one of the sane.
Above where I said strictly I should have said stricter. My problem is not only is my typing bad, but I’m also really ocd about it so it bothers me when I find things after the edit period has expired.
JDC,
Sometimes I screw up so bad that it takes more then five minutes to edit it too. And then none of the changes get saved :^{+-<
lol
Barb: “In my wildest imaginings, I will never understand the “logic” behind pro-abort thought processes.”
Remember that evil has no compunctions about logical coherence. There is no need for evil to be consistent or sound in its reasoning, since truth is not its object. Nor goodness or beauty, for that matter.
There are many who value reason who are merely deceived by evil. But there are some who are its willing allies, and who seek to defeat reason itself.