Westboro Baptist Church Conspires to Protest at Elizabeth Edwards' Funeral Service

On Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010, Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, passed away at age 61 from cancer complications. The announcement came shortly after Mrs. Edwards' personal decision to stop receiving cancer treatments. The doctors involved based the recommendations to Elizabeth on the facts that the disease would continue spreading despite the treatments and the likelihood of little benefit the treatments would provide.

In a shocking move, the Westboro Baptist Church, in Topeka, KS, announced it would protest Mrs. Edwards' funeral. A flier the Church distributed, claims that "God hates Elizabeth Edwards" appeared. The Church claims that Edwards committed suicide because she allowed herself to die by withholding further cancer treatments.

Case History

The Westboro Baptist Church, run by Pastor Fred Phelps, a Fundamentalist, is small and consists mostly of Phelps' familial relations. Mr. Phelps organized a similar protest at Marine Corps Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder's funeral. He was killed in Iraq in 2006, and the Church was protesting the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" homosexuality policy, even though Snyder was not gay.

Snyder vs. Phelps

Snyder's father, Albert Snyder, successfully sued the church for $5 million, which was awarded for emotional damage. The decision was later overturned, and the case, Snyder v. Phelps, is currently before the Supreme Court, which heard arguments Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010. The Court is expected to rule before its summer recess.

Several Justices have expressed sympathy for Mr. Snyder, but have also reiterated that the freedom of speech issues are complex. This church appears radical and anti-gay-focused, and their actions are intended to garner media attention. The courts are bound to interpret the letter of the law and uphold its spirit. The issues are complex, pressing limits of freedom itself.

Jacobellis vs. Ohio

In a celebrated case, Jacobellis v. Ohio, the Supreme Court overturned an Ohio court's decision that the original conviction of a motion picture's "filmed obscenities" violated freedom of speech and expression statutes. A French-made unrated film titled "Les Amants" (or "The Lovers" in English), was originally released in 1958. While it portrayed explicit sex scenes, it was not classified as a "pornographic" film or given an "X" rating indicative of pornography. In his decision, Justice Potter Stewart stated that he could not define pornography, "...but I know it when I see it." This decision makes it difficult to determine whether Phelps is right or wrong in his expression at the protests.

Possible Influences?

It is unlikely that the Edwards protest will have any legal influence on the current case, since arguments are closed and awaiting a ruling. The justices will legally only consider current case issues, even though public sentiment will be affected.

Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental constitutional liberties and must only be deliberated with the greatest of care. As Justice Steward expressed, the nature of free speech and its impact are difficult to define, as difficult as pornography vs. art arguments are. Mr. Phelps' extremism is distasteful and offensive, but freedom of speech does not mean freedom to express "approved" ideas.

The present case is based on whether it is legal for public figures to seek damages for intentional emotional distress inflicted by public expression, and was the basis for the ruling in Hustler Magazine v Falwell. The court decided that damages could only be sought if the statements were intentionally false.

In the Edwards protest, the church is using a public event to protest their feelings on a related issue. Elizabeth Edwards did nothing wrong, and her decision can only be admired with a tear in the eye for its courage.

Speculation

Matthew Snyder's death was a loss of a brave young man serving his country; the church's actions are shameful, especially considering that Snyder was not gay - not to say that the actions would have been OK otherwise; they would not have been.

God does not hate gays or Elizabeth Edwards. If anything, Phelps' God would hate those who hate, but public opinion should never influence the Supreme Court, since the rule of law is even more sacrosanct than the freedom of speech it protects. Would anyone really want Twitter Trends to determine law?