Opinion ID: 857469
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Rubber Fetus Doll Distributions

Text: On January 29, 2010, Pastor Aguilar and the Relentless students planned to distribute 2,500 small rubber dolls, one to every student at both schools. Each two-inch doll was designed to be a realistic representation of a human fetus. A card attached to each doll explained that it represented the actual size and weight of a “12 week old baby,” that is, a fetus at 12 weeks of gestation. Aplee. Appx., Vol. I at 22-23. One side of the card encouraged students to visit or call the Chaves County Pregnancy Resource Center, a clinic affiliated with Church on the Move. The other side featured a Relentless logo and this scriptural passage: For you formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother[’]s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are your works, And my soul knows it very well. Psalms 139:13-14 Aplee. Appx., Vol. I at 23. 3 Although it is undisputed that the Relentless students did not seek permission for the early distributions, Pastor Aguilar testified in his deposition that he and other adult organizers from the church sought and received verbal permission for at least one distribution. He could not recall which administrator gave permission or for which distribution. -5- At Goddard High, Pastor Aguilar and eight or nine Relentless students set up tables in the lobby and began the distribution about 7:30 a.m. They approached every student entering the school and offered a doll. The entrances were not blocked, and the Relentless members allowed those who declined to take a doll to continue on their way. Assistant Principal Brian Luck arrived and noticed the distribution. He went to his office and radioed other administrators to ask whether the students had approval for the distribution. Assistant Principal Michelle Edgett responded that the students did not have approval and told Mr. Luck he should “probably” take possession of the dolls.4 Aplt. Appx., Vol. I at 175. On his way back to the lobby, Mr. Luck saw several students throwing what looked like small rubber balls at the wall. The “balls” turned out to be dismembered heads of the rubber fetus dolls. Several female students stopped him to complain. Relentless members were not among those dismembering or throwing the dolls. Mr. Luck approached the Relentless students and said, “It’s time to shut this down. . . . Some people are getting offended.” Aplt. Appx., Vol. IV at 996. He took the remaining dolls and told the students they would be returned at the end of the day. At this point, the Relentless group had distributed more than 300 dolls at Goddard High. 4 Mr. Luck testified at his deposition that at the time of these events, he was newly appointed as an Assistant Principal and did not have the authority to grant or deny approval for student distributions on campus. -6- Later that morning, a Goddard High administrator called the principal of Roswell High, Ruben Bolaños, to ask if a similar distribution was underway at Roswell High. Principal Bolaños was not on campus, so he telephoned a campus security officer and instructed him to investigate and to confiscate the dolls “[i]f it’s a disruption to the educational process.” Aplt. Appx., Vol. I at 123. Two campus security guards at Roswell High investigated and eventually determined the dolls should be confiscated. Both schools experienced doll-related disruptions that day. Many students pulled the dolls apart, tearing the heads off and using them as rubber balls or sticking them on pencil tops. Others threw dolls and doll parts at the “popcorn” ceilings so they became stuck. Dolls were used to plug toilets. Several students covered the dolls in hand sanitizer and lit them on fire. One or more male students removed the dolls’ heads, inverted the bodies to make them resemble penises, and hung them on the outside of their pants’ zippers. Teachers at both schools complained that students’ preoccupation with the dolls disrupted classroom instruction. While teachers were trying to instruct, students threw dolls and doll heads across classrooms, at one another, and into wastebaskets. Some teachers said the disruptions took eight to 10 minutes each class period, and others said their teaching plans were derailed entirely. An honors freshman English class canceled a scheduled test because students had become engaged in name calling and insults over the topic of abortion. A Roswell security officer described the day as “a disaster” because of the dolls. Aplt. Appx., Vol. II at 447. -7- About two weeks later, on February 11, 2010, Relentless attempted to distribute the dolls again, believing it was their Christian duty and constitutional right. Administrators at both schools immediately stopped this second distribution. A Goddard High administrator announced over the public address system that “[n]othing is to be passed out that is not school related,” and warned that “there will be disciplinary actions taken” if the distribution continued. Aplt. Appx., Vol. I at 21. At Roswell High, Principal Bolaños emailed instructions to the faculty that rubber fetuses should be confiscated and any student distributing them should be referred to the administration. On the same day, other students at Roswell High were allowed to distribute Valentine’s Day-related items such as candy, cards, and stuffed animals. [Id.] The record does not tell whether any students distributed large quantities of these items or whether they received prior approval. There is no evidence of disturbance from the Valentine’s Day-related distributions. In late February, Relentless’s legal counsel sent a written demand to the District that the group be permitted to conduct the fetus doll distribution. Around this time, Superintendent Michael Gottlieb, administrators of both schools, and the senior pastor of Church on the Move, Troy Smotherman, met to discuss this issue (the “Gottlieb meeting”). During the Gottlieb meeting, participants discussed the possibility that Relentless might implement a less controversial message of abstinence. Superintendent Gottlieb asked Pastor Smotherman whether Relentless would consider distributing the fetus dolls more quietly, suggesting the group could “just put these babies in [students’] -8- backpacks . . . without the big to-do.” Aplt. Appx., Vol. I at 114. The meeting ended without resolution.