School District Apologizes to Pro-Life Students Who Were Cursed 'to Hell' by Academic Dean

A Pennsylvania school district has apologized to two pro-life students who peacefully protested on a school sidewalk while a school administrator harassed and cursed them.

The apology comes as part of a settlement with the students after they sued the Philadelphia-area district.

In a July 7 letter to sister and brother Lauren and Conner Haines, Dr. Emilie Lonardi, Downingtown Area School District Superintendent, said, "You had every right under our Constitution's First Amendment to speak and display signs like you did and that right was violated by Dr. Ruff."

Dr. Zach Ruff, the dean of Academics and Student Life at Downingtown STEM Academy, can be seen in a video shot by the two teens on April 21, threatening to call police if they spoke with other students.

The Haines' refused to move, arguing they were not breaking the law.

Conner Haines, 16, tried talking to Ruff about abortion, telling him, "Sir, these are image-bearers of God."

Ruff turned around in a fit of rage and said, "You can go to hell, where they are, too."

What really tipped Ruff over the edge was when Conner Haines called unborn babies "children."

"They're not children, they're cells! …You're at a science-based school, those are cells!" he yelled. "They're the size of a dime, they're cells!"

Conner Haines says he was shocked by the administrator's behavior.

"When he was up in my face, my heart started beating crazy fast," he told The Liberator. "But I wasn't really scared because I had my camera running, there were many people watching, and God has always protected me in the past. I wasn't expecting so much hostility at a local school. I remember praying quickly for wisdom."

At one point Conner told Ruff, "Sir, you need to turn to Jesus Christ."

Ruff then approached the teen and said: "Listen here, son, alright. I'm as gay as the day is long and twice as sunny. I don't give a (expletive) what you think Jesus tells me and what I should and should not be doing."

Supt. Lonardi acknowledged that Ruff's actions did not represent school district policy and promised to educate district employees about First Amendment rights.