St. Paul family sues Nova Classical Academy over anti-abortion fliers
A St. Paul sixth-grader’s father has gone to court, alleging that Nova Classical Academy violated her free-speech rights by blocking her from handing out fliers opposing abortion.
Nicholas Zinos, a Catholic book retailer and reviewer, sued Thursday in federal court on behalf of his daughter, Annie, over an incident that happened during lunchtime Feb. 27 at the St. Paul charter school, an independent public school.
Annie and her friends were handing out fliers that had two phrases X’ed out: “Save the baby seals” and “Save the baby whales.” Next came “Save the baby humans STOP ABORTION.”
Two days later, the suit said, Annie and her friends were told by Miranda Morton, the school’s director for grades 6-12, that some people were offended by the fliers and handing them out was not allowed before, during or after school.
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“Public schools should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” Matt Sharp, legal council for the alliance, said in a statement announcing the suit. “The law on this is extremely clear: Free speech cannot be censored simply because it expresses a certain viewpoint that administrators don’t favor.”
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