FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)- Pro-life supporters will be allowed to hold their signs along a highway in Fayetteville, after filing a complaint against the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department.
Volunteers with the “40 Days For Life” campaign have been gathering outside the Planned Parenthood clinic at the intersection of Crossover Road and Joyce Boulevard since Feb. 18. The volunteers have been standing along Crossover Road, which is also Arkansas Highway 265.
Volunteer Sheila Prusell said, during one of their vigils, a state highway representative told them they were breaking the law by holding signs along the highway.
“This was a breach of our first amendment rights,” Prusell said.
The Thomas Moore Society sent a complaint to the highway department on behalf of the group. On Monday (March 2), the department replied in a letter stating it did not "intend to suppress the constitutional rights of the volunteers involved in the campaign." The letter goes on, stating only signs put into the ground broke the law, so the “40 Days For Life” volunteers could keep holding signs along Crossover Road.
“We are grateful to live in a country that supports our first amendment rights to be able to be out here and do this,” said Jeff Courtway, a "40 Days For Life" volunteer.
The highway department letter also stated it's against the law to solicit donations or sell items or services along state highways.
The "40 Days For Life" group plans to stand along Crossover Road from 7 a.m., until 7 p.m. through March 29.