Pro-Life Action Ministries (PLAM) won a major legal victory over the City of Minneapolis earlier this week which will allow the group to resume previously suspended parts of their sidewalk counseling ministry.
As a part of their work, PLAM staff and volunteers regularly stand outside abortion facilities and counsel pregnant women against having an abortion. The Planned Parenthood in Minneapolis is one of the facilities around which PLAM engages in their sidewalk ministry.
That Planned Parenthood facility has a parking lot used by many pregnant women who enter the building. When ministering outside the facility, PLAM volunteers will often stand on the public sidewalk and flag down cars entering the parking lot. Those volunteers will then attempt to start a conversation, give the woman literature, and provide counseling.
During these exchanges, the woman’s car is typically stopped over the driveway/sidewalk into the Planned Parenthood parking lot. The PLAM volunteer is typically standing in the same area.
In late 2022, the Minneapolis City Council passed an ordinance which specifically banned people on public sidewalks from flagging down cars and talking to the drivers as they pulled into the parking lot of a “reproductive healthcare facility.”
As such, PLAM filed a federal lawsuit in April 2023 against Minneapolis asking the court to declare the ordinance unconstitutional. In their lawsuit, PLAM stated that the city specifically passed its ordinance to target their ministry and prevent them from counseling women against getting an abortion.
PLAM argued that the ordinance was a violation of federal law and their constitutional rights of free speech, expressive association, and free exercise of religion.
In response, Minneapolis denied that the ordinance was unconstitutional, said the city’s actions were allowed under applicable law, and asked the court to throw out the lawsuit.
While the lawsuit has progressed, PLAM has refrained from flagging down cars from the public sidewalk. However, the organization has continued their sidewalk ministry by only counseling women from the street.
Earlier this month, the Minneapolis City Council amended the ordinance to include an exception for “Any person or group engaging in conduct protected by the United States Constitution, the Minnesota Constitution, or federal or Minnesota law.”
This essentially nullified the original ordinance and allowed PLAM’s full sidewalk ministry to resume.
Just days ago, the lawsuit between PLAM and Minneapolis was resolved when the parties entered into an agreed judgement in favor of PLAM. As a part of that judgement, PLAM and the other plaintiffs in the case received $10, a sum that simply symbolizes the plaintiffs’ victory.
“Having our rights restored increases the possibility to help women and save more babies from abortion,” said Brian Gibson, chief executive officer of Pro-Life Action Ministries. “We are elated that the City of Minneapolis has recognized its fault in suppressing our First Amendment rights. This is a win for the unborn babies. Other cities need to take note to never simply do Planned Parenthood’s bidding and interfere with citizens’ Constitutional rights.”
Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, which represented PLAM in the case, said the city’s original ordinance was “crafted exclusively for the purpose of hamstringing pro-life sidewalk counseling efforts outside of the city’s Planned Parenthood abortion facility.”
“Today, we’ve won a total victory against this sort of viewpoint discrimination, and our dear friends and clients at Pro-Life Action Ministries can go about their life-saving efforts without fear or threat of penalties for sharing their life-saving message,” he said.
Alpha News reached out to Planned Parenthood and the City of Minneapolis seeking comment for this story. However, neither entity provided a statement.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
