Vitagliano v. County of Westchester

Becket Role:
Counsel
Case Start Date:
November 1, 2022
Deciding Court:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Original Court:
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Practice Area(s):
,

Case Snapshot

As a devout Catholic and occupational therapist for children with special needs, Debra Vitagliano felt called to offer compassionate, face-to-face support to women considering abortion. But a new law in Westchester County, New York, makes it illegal for Debra to engage in polite conversation about alternatives to abortion with women outside abortion clinics.

Status

On November 1, 2022, Becket filed a federal lawsuit against Westchester County, New York, to protect Debra’s right to peacefully engage in sidewalk counseling with women who are considering abortion.

Case Summary

A call to serve society’s most vulnerable

Debra Vitagliano is a devout Catholic and an occupational therapist. At a young age, she discerned her vocation to serve children with special needs after seeing a poster of a little girl using Lofstrand crutches. For over 40 years, Debra has lived out her vocation by working with children diagnosed with various physical and neurological disabilities, including severe disabilities that some seek to address by abortion.

Debra’s work with special needs children has led her to see the inherent worth of each person, no matter their level of functioning. Consistent with her Catholic faith, Debra opposes abortion and sees it as the deliberate termination of an innocent human life.

Two years ago, Debra began participating in a prayer vigil at the Planned Parenthood in White Plains, New York. As part of her vigil, Debra engaged in peaceful prayer and held signs about the impacts of abortion on both expecting mothers and fathers. During this time, Debra trained to volunteer as a counselor to women at risk of abortion. She views this ministry as a final attempt to turn pregnant women away from abortion and to save the lives of unborn children.

Westchester “buffer zone” restricts free speech

Just before Debra started sidewalk counseling, Westchester County passed a law restricting free speech around abortion clinics. The law establishes a 100-foot zone around abortion clinics and prohibits anyone from approaching within eight feet of a person in that zone to provide information or counseling unless given express consent. Enacted after the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, the law was passed to stop pro-life advocates from peacefully engaging with women in their time of most need.

Debra is motivated by her faith to help vulnerable women approaching abortion clinics, but the Westchester law stops her and all others who seek to offer this help by threats of fine or imprisonment. It also harms countless women by depriving them of peaceful and often welcomed offers to help.

Protecting free speech in the public square

The First Amendment protects the right to a free and peaceful exchange of ideas, which includes an individual’s ability to have personal conversations about matters of public concern in public places. Under the Westchester law, if Debra approaches a woman to tell her that she is loved and that there are alternatives to abortion, Debra can be criminally punished.

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Importance to religious liberty

  • Free speech: Free speech includes the right to a free and peaceful exchange of ideas with others—including religious ideas. Freedom of speech and religious liberty go hand-in-hand; protecting one protects the other.
  • Individual freedom: Religious freedom includes the freedom to practice one’s faith in all areas of life, both public and private, free of government interference.