Monday, February 24, 2025 – Carbondale, IL – Coalition Life, the largest professional sidewalk counseling organization in the nation, announced that it will continue to fight attacks on free speech despite the Supreme Court rejecting their petition in Coalition Life v. Carbondale.

Coalition Life filed the petition in July 2024 with representation by the Thomas More Society, a leading non-profit, public interest law firm. Coalition Life’s lawsuit made its way to the Supreme Court after the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois rejected an appeal based on the grounds that a precedent set by Hill v. Colorado offered legal cover for bubble zone laws.The only remedy to overturn Hill is a review by the Supreme Court.

“The Supreme Court has denied our appeal, but we will not be denied the ability to perform our lifesaving work on the sidewalk,” said Brian Westbrook, Executive Director of Coalition Life. “Sidewalk counselors will continue to show up for the women who need us every single day, in every place we are called…as we expand our operations across the United States, we will continue to advocate for these women and our fundamental right to speak with them to offer help, hope and information that they desperately need.”

The bubble zone ordinance, which created an irrational and unreasonably large 100-foot zone around “any entrance door” to a “hospital, medical clinic or healthcare facility” in the City of Carbondale, was repealed by the city council shortly after the Supreme Court petition was filed in an attempt to avoid legal action at the highest level. Because the ordinance is no longer in effect, the Supreme Court decision has no impact on current sidewalk operations. But because the case will not be heard, there is no protection that such an ordinance will not be passed in the future and no relief for the damages incurred during the months in which the Carbondale ordinance was in effect.

“On the eve of our petition deadline, Carbondale quietly repealed its bubble zone ordinance in a shadowy, four-minute, weekend meeting, knowing full well their bubble zone would fail constitutional scrutiny if it came before the Supreme Court,” said Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Vice President and Head of Litigation. “While our clients are now able to sidewalk counsel freely in Carbondale, the city flagrantly violated their Free Speech rights for eighteen months, without penalty. And pro-abortion government bodies in many other cities across the country continue to unconstitutionally restrict the speech of pro-life sidewalk counselors.”

As a professional sidewalk counseling organization, Coalition Life has been working in front of abortion facilities in Missouri and Illinois for more than 13 years. The bubble zone ordinance in Carbondale is endemic of efforts across the country for local governments to suppress pro-life speech in public spaces.

“We won’t stand idly by while millions of women are lied to and ushered down a path of pain and regret,” said Westbrook. “We won’t sit on the sidelines while millions of innocent children are murdered, discarded and literally thrown in the trash. We won’t sit by and allow American citizens to be denied their fundamental rights to free speech on the sidewalk. This fight is far from over.”

About Coalition Life
Coalition Life is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization with a Mission of ENDING Abortion… Peacefully and Prayerfully. Founded in St. Louis, Mo. in 2011 by Brian Westbrook, it operates a pregnancy resource center in St. Louis, provides sidewalk counseling at six locations in Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. Coalition Life is continuing to grow as a national leader in the frontline effort to provide alternatives to abortion. Differentiated by its professional staff of sidewalk counselors and proven approach to successfully reach women who desire options and resources, Coalition Life created “The St. Louis Method” of sidewalk counseling that has resulted in more than 4,362 turnarounds outside of abortion facilities and countless lives saved. For more information visit CoalitionLife.com.

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Interview requests: For interviews with Brian Westbrook of Coalition Life: Contact Melissa Barreca at mbarreca@coalitionlife.com or call/text 636-735-3240, based in St. Louis, Missouri (CST). For interviews with Peter Breen of Thomas More Society: Contact Tom Ciesielka at tc@tcpr.net or call/text 312-403-1333, based in Chicago, Illinois (CST).