Alliance Defending Freedom

Noblesville High School derecognized a student club because of the pro-life messages on the group’s flyers.

Throughout National Foster Care Month, we acknowledge the quiet sacrifice of foster families across America—and the priceless value of the children they serve. These kids and families deserve our care and support. Sadly, at ADF, we’re increasingly seeing the opposite. Loving families like Shane and Jenn DeGross, who served as foster parents in Washington state for 9 years, are now losing their licenses under new policies based in gender ideology. Quite simply, these policies discriminate against religious families. They’re unconstitutional. But more than that: they hurt kids. Gender ideology shouldn’t keep kids from having a safe place to sleep—or a loving mom and dad. We’re standing with families like Shane & Jenn in court. We’re also working with legislatures to protect kids and families from policies like the one in Washington state. During National Foster Care Month, we call on states to refocus on what kids need most: a safe, loving home.

🙏 COURT HEARING TODAY: This afternoon, ADF attorneys will be in federal court representing Vermont pro-life pregnancy centers—including the one directed by Jean Marie Davis. Jean Marie knows firsthand that these centers are a vital resource for women. Before she was an executive director, she was a client—and she credits a pro-life pregnancy center with saving her life. From age 2 to 22, Jean Marie was trafficked across 33 states. When she became pregnant, a pro-life pregnancy center didn’t just help her choose life for her son; it also helped her escape trafficking, find healing in Christ, and turn her life around. Now, she is providing that same lifeline for others. But Vermont is trying to shut down her work. Last year, the state enacted a law targeting pro-life pregnancy centers with censorship and burdensome restrictions. Meanwhile, abortion facilities face no such restrictions. For example: an abortion facility is free to have its non-licensed staff distribute literature or information. But for a pro-life center to do the same thing, they must use state-licensed medical staff—even to hand out brochures or offer counseling. Pro-life centers are also subject to censorship of their speech and advertising, at the sole discretion of Vermont’s attorney general. If they’re deemed to be in violation of this vague law, they face fines of up to $10,000 per violation. Vermont is violating constitutional rights in service of an extreme abortion agenda. Women deserve the chance to seek free, life-affirming help from pro-life pregnancy centers—the kind of help that saved Jean Marie Davis’s life. Please pray for our attorneys today, and for each of our courageous clients. Pray that justice would prevail—and that the doors of pro-life pregnancy centers would stay open.

🚨 FREE SPEECH WIN: Last summer, the staff of a California library abruptly ended a local Moms for LIberty forum on women’s sports—and kicked out its speaker, college athlete Sophia Lorey—because she accurately referred to male athletes as “men.” Now, after a federal lawsuit filed by ADF and the Institute for Free Speech, Yolo County Library has changed course. Officials have adopted a new policy mandating that staff “shall not interfere with presentations or other speech by individuals or groups that have reserved meeting rooms based on the content of such speech” and to instruct staff to “curtail any disruptive behavior” during events. They also agreed to allow women’s sports advocates to host the event again, which they did on April 13 without incident. Finally, they agreed to pay $70,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees. As a result, we have now settled the case. “Women have the right to speak about their concerns regarding men competing in their sports, and public officials have a constitutional duty to uphold that right regardless of whether they agree with the point of view presented,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer. “Shutting down discussions about biological differences between men and women is, sadly, a growing trend among activists seeking to erase women and harm children.” Yolo County library officials should never have shut down this event. But they are right to change course and enact policies that align with the First Amendment. We hope other public officials will learn from this incident and take a strong stance for the speech and assembly rights of all Americans.

📸 Shots from this week's presser with the Kansas Attorney General.   We're grateful for the courage of states across the country, parents, students, and female athletes who are boldly standing up to Biden's illegal rewrite of #TitleIX. 

4th TITLE IX LAWSUIT: Today we filed our fourth legal action challenging the Biden admin’s illegal changes to Title IX. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is leading a coalition of four states in the federal lawsuit, while ADF represents female students and athletes—namely Female Athletes United and 13-year-old Katie Rowland from Oklahoma. Also joining the lawsuit are Moms for Liberty and Young America’s Foundation. In the lawsuit, we explain that when Katie Rowland was just 11 years old, she entered her middle school girls’ restroom at school and was surprised to find a male student in the restroom. Scared and confused, she asked the male student why he was in the girls’ restroom. This situation made Katie so uncomfortable that she progressively went from checking to see if there were any boys in the girls’ restroom to avoiding using the restroom altogether on school days—waiting nearly nine hours from getting on the bus to returning home. The Biden administration’s attempt to redefine “sex” in Title IX will create countless more intolerable situations like this for female students and athletes across America. “If Biden has his way, a 16-year-old female high school student on an overnight field trip could be forced to share a hotel room with a biological male who identifies as a girl or the district would risk losing federal funding,” Kansas AG Kris Kobach said. “A 14-year-old girl could be forced to share a locker room and change in front of an 18-year-old man who identifies as a woman or the district could lose funds. It’s unconscionable, it’s dangerous for girls and women, and it’s against federal law.” When laws and policies deny biological reality, girls suffer. That’s the opposite of what Title IX was intended to do when Congress enacted it in 1972.  The Biden admin is acting illegally and unjustly. We’re standing up to stop it. Follow ADF for updates on all our Title IX litigation. 

Today on #MothersDay, we celebrate the women who give of themselves selflessly, love unconditionally, and work tirelessly to care for their children. We are honored to work alongside heroic mothers who are clients and colleagues. 🌸

A pro-life club at Noblesville High School was derecognized for flyers the school deemed too "political."    But this isn't just about a flyer —it's about a public school telling a high schooler that she can't express a message that's important to her. That's why we're suing.  https://lnkd.in/eHpFDnTd

On Teacher Appreciation Week, we salute the many heroic teachers who know that falsehood is never in a child’s best interest. In the face of ideological pressure, they’re holding to the truth. In a school culture that alienates parents, they’re supporting a child’s first relationship. And far too often, they’re paying the price. Many of our clients have faced losing their teaching jobs for refusing to lie to a child or a parent. But they know that the cost of losing their integrity and doing something that harms a child would be far higher. To such courageous and caring teachers: thank you. We need more like you. It’s an honor to champion your freedoms.

THIRD TITLE IX LAWSUIT 🚨 We filed a federal lawsuit alongside Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota to challenge the Biden administration’s illegal attempts to rewrite Title IX.    STATE OF ARKANSAS V. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION marks our team’s third lawsuit in response to Biden’s attempts to redefine “sex” that ignores biological reality, science, and commonsense. These illegal actions jeopardize privacy, safety, free speech, and fairness for students and teachers nationwide.    We represent Amelia Ford, a 10th-grade basketball player in Arkansas. Amelia represents the stance of many students nationwide who seek fair competition and safe spaces for women. In good conscience, and according to her religious beliefs, Amelia cannot promote lies by using inaccurate pronouns. She also wants to feel safe by having female-designated spaces (like restrooms, showers, and locker rooms) reserved for females only. And as a competitive athlete who worked tirelessly to compete in varsity-level athletics, Amelia wants to engage in fair athletic competition for girls that Title IX was designed to protect.    With 6 other states, we are urging the court to allow states to protect student fairness, privacy, safety, and free speech. And we won’t stop there. Follow us for updates and more.