February 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Attorneys from the Chicago- based Thomas More Society are appearing in Providence municipal court Wednesday for a hearing on their motion to dismiss disorderly conduct charges against Christopher Young. Young, a Democratic mayoral candidate, was arrested and dragged away to jail after questioning Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-Rhode Island, about his pro-abortion views at an open forum on health care at Brown University last November.

Thomas More Society attorneys argue that Young was not “disorderly” but rather was exercising his First Amendment rights when he questioned Rep. Kennedy about his support for abortion in health care reform and tossed a video onto the table at which the Congressman was seated. The video was Maafa 21, a documentary on the history of abortion aimed at African-Americans that charges Planned Parenthood and other abortionists with “black genocide.”

Young had asked Kennedy, “Why would you mandate Catholics to support the funding of abortion when it goes against our religious beliefs? It forces Catholics to fund abortions or serve a five year prison sentence.”

“You make it a felony,” he said. “This is not a free country. You are forcing people to support a bill that goes against the religious beliefs of the people of this country.”

Tom Brejcha, chief counsel for the Thomas More Society said in a press release on Tuesday that, “Young was wholly within his rights in putting tough questions to Kennedy, who never answered but sat smugly and watched while his questioner was muzzled, handcuffed and hauled off to jail.”

Brejcha added, “Kennedy had argued that every person has a divine spark that entitles him or her to health care, and this provoked questions from Young, also a Catholic, as to how Kennedy could advocate health care laws suppressing conscience rights of Catholics and others who deem it abhorrent that the divine spark is snuffed out in so many infants before they even see the light of day.”

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