Anti-abortion club says Miami University policies "chill" free speech

A student anti-abortion club filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Miami University, saying it abandoned its annual “cemetery of the innocents” display on the Hamilton campus after the college demanded that warning signs be placed ahead of the display.

Wait, call off the lawyers! A Miami spokeswoman called the flap an “unfortunate misunderstanding” Thursday. Claire Wagner says the university does not require warning signs. The cemetery display, she says, can go on.

The suit, filed by Students for Life at Miami University and its four top officers, accused the college of violating their constitutional right to free speech. Miami is a public university. The club wanted to plant small crosses in the Hamilton campus’ Central Quad to maximize exposure.

“These past cemetery of the innocents displays have persuaded multiple women who were pregnant and considering abortion to change their minds and choose life for their unborn children,” says the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati.

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