Judge Orders Anti-Abortion Group to Cease Release of Secretly Recorded NAF Meetings
Judge Orders Anti-Abortion Group to Cease Release of Secretly Recorded NAF Meetings
by Feminist Newswire on Feb 9, 2016 • 1:55 PM
In a victory for abortion providers under attack from anti-abortion extremist group Center for Medical Progress (CMP), a United States District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering CMP, Biomax Procurement Services, CMP leader David Daleiden, and Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue and founding board member of CMP, to halt the release of several surreptitiously-recorded videos filmed illegally at National Abortion Federation (NAF) meetings.
On Friday, after studying over 500 hours of illegally obtained “secret” video footage, Judge William H. Orrick ruled NAF was not in violation of any laws, determining no evidence existed suggesting that any of its members “engag[ed] in, agreed to engage in, or expressed interest in engaging in potentially illegal sale of fetal tissue for profit.” Orrick also rejected claims made by CMP that David Daleiden and his associates should be protected as investigative journalists. Instead, Judge Orrick described CMP’s exploits not as “pieces of journalistic integrity,” but as “misleadingly edited videos and unfounded assertions.”
In his order, Judge Orrick noted that the “documented, dramatic increase in the volume and extent of threats to and harassment of NAF and its members” since the release of the first set of CMP videos was “critical” to his decision to grant the preliminary injunction which will remain in place until the conclusion of the trial.
More:
http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2016/02/09/judge-orders-anti-abortion-group-to-cease-release-of-secretly-recorded-naf-meetings/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FeministDailyNews+%28Feminist+Daily+News%29
“There’s no denying that the fraudulent campaign launched by the defendants has put abortion providers at risk,” said NAF President & CEO Vicki Saporta in response the court’s ruling. “We are very grateful that the judge granted this preliminary injunction, which will help protect the safety and security of our members.”
