(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - The Ohio Right to Life Society praised the recent ruling by Federal Court Judge George C. Smith that upholds the Society’s first amendment right of free speech.

The Ohio Right to Life filed suit in May against the Ohio Elections Commission and the Ohio Secretary of State to prevent them from enforcing a state law that would have prohibited any advocacy group from airing advertisements mentioning the name of a political candidate within 30 days of an election.

“This is not just about Ohio Right to Life,” said Executive Director Mike Gonidakis. “This ruling affects every advocacy group in the state. Gagging everybody for thirty days prior to the election, when the public is just beginning to pay attention to the issues involved is depriving everyone of their First Amendment rights to free speech. Like any advocacy organization, we must be free to inform individuals about life issues, regardless of when an election is scheduled.”

Ohio Right to Life, represented by attorney Bill Todd from Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan, & Aronoff argued in court filings that the Ohio state law barring it from running advertisements mentioning candidates’ names close to an election is impermissible in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision last summer in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL).

In that case, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that political speech can only be regulated if the advertisement contains “express advocacy” or “is susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate.” Ohio Right to Life's challenge to the disclosure requirements were not addressed by the Supreme Court in the WRTL case

“Our mission is to promote and protect life in Ohio 365 days a year. We strongly believe that the American political system functions best when serious, issue-driven groups such as ours are free to participate in the robust debate of political issues that is, and should be the hallmark of our nation.” Gonidakis said. 

(The entire Federal Court decision can be read by clcking on this link "Court Decision.")