Millionaire abortionist” to testify at trial against Pro-Life sidewalk counselors

(February 14, 2018 – Brooklyn, NY) Merle Hoffman, the woman that Forbes dubbed the “Millionaire Abortionist,” is scheduled to testify on February 15 against a group of pro-life Christian sidewalk counselors who have been slapped with a federal harassment lawsuit by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The charges have been brought against the pro-life advocates for offering abortion-bound women information on life-affirming alternatives. The sidewalk counselors are represented by the Thomas More Society, whose legal defense of them is rooted in the constitutionally guaranteed rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression.
 

Hoffman has been performing abortions since 1971, two years before Roe v. Wade became law. She runs the for-profit Choices Women’s Medical Center in Jamaica-Queens, New York, where ten members of Church@TheRock (http://www.rockny.org/) in Brooklyn are on trial for witnessing for life. According the news reports, Hoffman’s abortion facility is estimated to see about 50,000 women a year and in 2016 generated a reported $10 million in revenues.

Martin Cannon, Thomas More Society Special Counsel, is defending the peaceful sidewalk counselors against false charges of harassment, threats and violence. He noted that New York has filed baseless claims against law abiding citizens solely to discourage any opposition to abortion. The State has presented no documented or verified instances of the use of force, threat of force, physical obstruction, or of following and harassing, which Schneiderman claims justify this unjust prosecution.

 “We expect to be vindicated,” stated Rev. Kenneth Griepp, a defendant in the lawsuit and the senior pastor at Church@TheRock. “As a voice for the unborn, we are committed to raising awareness about the more than 3,500 children that are being murdered every day here in America. We do so as peaceful people of God. Because the Thomas More Society attorneys understand that, they are able to ably defend us and protect the rights we are guaranteed under the United States Constitution and First Amendment. That includes the freedom to speak out against what we believe to be the grave evil of abortion and to offer lifesaving alternatives to women and their children.” 

 Background on the case is available here  (https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/federal-judge-concurs-thomas-societys-defense-pro-life-free-speech/).
 About the Thomas More Society: The Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago and Omaha, the Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information, visit thomasmoresociety.org.