By Allie Martin and Jody Brown
May 9, 2002

(AgapePress) - A Texas high school student may have to sue his school if administrators don't allow him to wear a sweatshirt expressing his pro-life views.

Last month, John Denton -- a junior at Canyon High School in Canyon, Texas -- wore a sweatshirt displaying the message "Abortion is Homicide." Before the bell for first period rang, Denton was confronted by the school principal, who ordered him to remove the sweatshirt because it might be controversial.

Ed White is with the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. White says school officials were clearly out of line.

"The fact that a principal may think there might be problems down the road, that's not the standard that controls," White says. "[T]hat would give too much discretion to a principal to silence all messages that he or she may think may cause problems -- and then all you have is a system where the student is only allowed to speak or wear shirts that are 'officially approved' messages. Then we've slipped into a totalitarian state rather than a free state, as we are here in this country."

Denton has not worn his sweatshirt since the encounter -- but he did contact the Thomas More Law Center, which sent a four-page letter to school officials that explained the student's right to wear pro-life clothing. The letter also demanded written assurances from the school that Denton would be permitted to wear the clothing to school.

The attorney says Denton's constitutional rights were clearly violated. "A student has a right to free speech on a public school campus, so long as his speech does not materially and substantially disrupt the workings of the school day," he says. "And here, there was no disruption whatsoever because the school day hadn't even started."

White says if the school continues to refuse to let Denton wear the pro-life shirt, legal action may be the next step. The Law Center has given school officials until Friday to reverse their decision.

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