Notre Dame Not Seeking Leniency for
Arrested Pro-Life Protesters: Thomas More
Lawyers Now on the Case
By Kathleen Gilbert
SOUTH BEND, Indiana, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Thomas More
Society attorneys appeared in St. Joseph County Criminal Court to defend
two prominent pro-life advocates against trespass charges brought this
morning by local prosecutors in the wake of protests at the University of
Notre Dame. The attorneys join the fight with pro-life attorney Tom
Dickson, who is representing dozens more pro-lifers arrested at the
campus.
Laura Rohling and Jane Brennan went onto the Notre Dame campus to
educate students about the after-effects of abortion, based on their own
personal experiences with abortion. Ms. Brennan, author of “Motherhood
Interrupted,” is a frequent guest on Catholic TV and radio. She serves as
regional coordinator in Colorado of “Silent No More,” a group which
brings public attention to the plight of women who have experienced
emotional and psychological trauma following abortion. Ms. Rohling
serves as assistant regional coordinator of that group.
Brennan and Rohling, like dozens of other pro-life advocates who
travelled across the country to protest President Obama's
commencement speech at Notre Dame, were arrested for criminal
trespass upon entering campus.
Witnesses say that only individuals who bore a pro-life display of protest -
including a large cross, photographs of aborted children, and images of
Mary - were arrested, while other passersby and pro-Obama
demonstrators were allowed to roam free.
While South Bend prosecutor Michael Dvorak is pursuing charges
against the pro-lifers, defense attorneys say they are concerned that the
University has not sought leniency for the protesters.
“The Thomas More Society is urging the University to request that these
trespass charges be dropped,” said Tom Brejcha, President and Chief
Counsel of the Thomas More Society. “Such a magnanimous gesture will
go far toward healing the divisions that have arisen between Notre Dame
and the pro-life movement, in light of recent events.”
The Society has assembled an all-“Fighting Irish” team, including
President and Chief Counsel Thomas Brejcha, Notre Dame class of ’65,
Executive Director Peter Breen, Notre Dame Law class of ‘00, and South
Bend attorney David Wemhoff, Notre Dame class of ’79, in defense of Ms.
Rohling and Ms. Brennan.
“What’s vitally needed is dialogue about pro-life issues of abortion, stem-
cell research, euthanasia, marriage, as well as about capital punishment
and peace issues rather than confrontation in South Bend’s criminal
court,” Brejcha continued. “The pro-life movement is the next stage of
America’s civil rights movement, and Notre Dame is not Birmingham.”
The Thomas More Society has a history of partnership with the University
of Notre Dame. The late Fr. Ned Joyce, former Executive Vice President of
the University, was a regular financial supporter of the Society. Fr.
Theodore Hesburgh, former President of the University, wrote fundraising
letters in support of the Thomas More Society’s successful defense of
peaceable, non-violent abortion protests in the landmark United States
Supreme Court case, NOW v. Scheidler.
To contact University of Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins:
Office of the President
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN
46556
Phone: 574.631.3903
Email: president@nd.edu
Arrested Pro-Life Protesters: Thomas More
Lawyers Now on the Case
By Kathleen Gilbert
SOUTH BEND, Indiana, June 4, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Thomas More
Society attorneys appeared in St. Joseph County Criminal Court to defend
two prominent pro-life advocates against trespass charges brought this
morning by local prosecutors in the wake of protests at the University of
Notre Dame. The attorneys join the fight with pro-life attorney Tom
Dickson, who is representing dozens more pro-lifers arrested at the
campus.
Laura Rohling and Jane Brennan went onto the Notre Dame campus to
educate students about the after-effects of abortion, based on their own
personal experiences with abortion. Ms. Brennan, author of “Motherhood
Interrupted,” is a frequent guest on Catholic TV and radio. She serves as
regional coordinator in Colorado of “Silent No More,” a group which
brings public attention to the plight of women who have experienced
emotional and psychological trauma following abortion. Ms. Rohling
serves as assistant regional coordinator of that group.
Brennan and Rohling, like dozens of other pro-life advocates who
travelled across the country to protest President Obama's
commencement speech at Notre Dame, were arrested for criminal
trespass upon entering campus.
Witnesses say that only individuals who bore a pro-life display of protest -
including a large cross, photographs of aborted children, and images of
Mary - were arrested, while other passersby and pro-Obama
demonstrators were allowed to roam free.
While South Bend prosecutor Michael Dvorak is pursuing charges
against the pro-lifers, defense attorneys say they are concerned that the
University has not sought leniency for the protesters.
“The Thomas More Society is urging the University to request that these
trespass charges be dropped,” said Tom Brejcha, President and Chief
Counsel of the Thomas More Society. “Such a magnanimous gesture will
go far toward healing the divisions that have arisen between Notre Dame
and the pro-life movement, in light of recent events.”
The Society has assembled an all-“Fighting Irish” team, including
President and Chief Counsel Thomas Brejcha, Notre Dame class of ’65,
Executive Director Peter Breen, Notre Dame Law class of ‘00, and South
Bend attorney David Wemhoff, Notre Dame class of ’79, in defense of Ms.
Rohling and Ms. Brennan.
“What’s vitally needed is dialogue about pro-life issues of abortion, stem-
cell research, euthanasia, marriage, as well as about capital punishment
and peace issues rather than confrontation in South Bend’s criminal
court,” Brejcha continued. “The pro-life movement is the next stage of
America’s civil rights movement, and Notre Dame is not Birmingham.”
The Thomas More Society has a history of partnership with the University
of Notre Dame. The late Fr. Ned Joyce, former Executive Vice President of
the University, was a regular financial supporter of the Society. Fr.
Theodore Hesburgh, former President of the University, wrote fundraising
letters in support of the Thomas More Society’s successful defense of
peaceable, non-violent abortion protests in the landmark United States
Supreme Court case, NOW v. Scheidler.
To contact University of Notre Dame president Fr. John Jenkins:
Office of the President
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN
46556
Phone: 574.631.3903
Email: president@nd.edu
Our Letter to The President of Notre Dame
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| At Notre Dame University May 8th, 2009 |
Notre Dame, Our Mother Notre Dame, our Mother Tender, strong and true Proudly in the heavens, Gleams thy gold and blue. Glory's mantle cloaks thee Golden is thy fame, And our hearts forever, Praise thee, Notre Dame. And our hearts forever, Love thee, Notre Dame. |
