This New York County Desires to Put Professional-Life Folks in Jail for Serving to Ladies

Oksana Hulinsky used to stand on the sidewalk outside an abortion facility in Westchester County, offering hope to women in crisis.

A kind word. A pamphlet about alternatives. Sometimes just a ‘Blessing Bag’ or some baby supplies.

Today, Oksana sits in her car outside the abortion business. She doesn’t approach anyone. She doesn’t offer literature. All she can do is sit in her car and pray.

What changed?

Westchester County passed a law making it a crime to continue speaking to an abortion-minded mother outside an abortion facility, like Planned Parenthood, after she makes an “implied request to cease.”

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Not an express request—an implied one.

Westchester County has mandated that pro-life sidewalk counselors must become mind readers. If they guess wrong, they may face jail time and financial ruin.

When federal judges pressed County lawyers to define this standard, they admitted that a “blank stare” from a woman entering an abortion facility presents a “close question” on whether a sidewalk counselor has broken the law.

If Oksana fails to detect that silent cue—and stops speaking a moment too late—she could face jail time, crippling fines, and financial ruin.

Facing such severe criminal and financial penalties, Oksana, along with her fellow counselor Regina Molinelli, and countless others, have been forced off the sidewalks entirely.

That’s why our legal team has just filed an opening brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to strike down Westchester’s unconstitutional “mind reader” mandate.

We’re hopeful, because we’ve beaten Westchester County before. Last year, a federal court ruled in our case that a separate part of this law “criminalized large swaths of protected speech.” Now we’re asking the Second Circuit to finish the job.

LifeNews Note: Thomas More Society is a nonprofit legal organization.