Pro-lifer sues city over speech restrictions in abortion buffer zone

Roger Lopez, a pro-life California citizen who has advocated for women and preborn babies outside of abortion facilities for 15 years, is suing the City of San Diego over its buffer zone law, which prohibits free speech within 100 feet of an abortion business.

According to the Times of San Diego, on September 5, attorneys from the Thomas More Society filed a federal lawsuit against San Diego on behalf of Lopez, citing the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. As reported by Catholic Vote, the lawsuit exposes “the closeness between Planned Parenthood and San Diego’s elected officials, as Planned Parenthood has donated ‘tens of thousands of dollars to the political campaigns of San Diego’s city attorney, council members, and mayor.’”

Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President & Head of Litigation, said in a statement, “San Diego’s bubble zone ordinance is a coordinated attempt to silence and shut down pro-life speech where it matters most: on the public sidewalk outside abortion businesses. The right to freedom of speech is at its highest on the public sidewalk, so attempts like San Diego’s to silence pro-life speech outside abortion businesses is an especially egregious attack on our constitutional rights. We are proud to defend the First Amendment rights of sidewalk counselors, like Roger Lopez, who have dedicated their lives to sharing the pro-life message of hope and offering alternatives to abortion-bound women in need.”

The buffer zone law, signed by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria on June 24, added an additional stipulation to a pre-existing 1997 law. It makes it illegal for demonstrators within the previously established 100-foot buffer zone around healthcare, religious, or educational institutions, including abortion facilities, to “approach within eight feet of a person in the public right-of-way or sidewalk area who is seeking to enter or exit” without the person’s consent. It also forbids signs to be displayed, and forces speech within the zone to be “softer than normal conversation.”

The language in the law is broad, effectively banning any speech outside facilities that could cause “discomfort or annoyance.” For example, it states, “No person shall make, or cause to be made, any disturbing, excessive, or offensive noise which causes discomfort or annoyance to any reasonable person of normal sensitivities.” The law specifies that these requirements also apply to pro-life advocates approaching persons entering or exiting facilities in a vehicle.

City officials, meanwhile, have praised the law, calling it balanced, both for people seeking abortion and for pro-life advocates. As reported by the Times of San Diego, Mayor Gloria claimed, “We’ve struck a balance that ensures people have safe, unfettered access to essential services while upholding protesters’ First Amendment rights.”

Lopez and his attorneys strongly disagree, arguing that the new law infringes upon the rights of American citizens by undermining the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

“Tragically, Planned Parenthood in Southern California aborts more than 24,000 unborn children every year,” said Paul M. Jonna, Thomas More Society Special Counsel and Partner, LiMandri & Jonna LLP. “Pregnant women report that clinic staff often lie to them about their reproductive options, ignore their needs, and are rude and condescending. Pro-life sidewalk counselors like Roger Lopez offer these women help, compassion, support, and information. But the City of San Diego wants to deprive women of this information—leading them to mistakenly believe that abortion is their only option. In doing so, San Diego is not only harming women and their unborn children, but also unconstitutionally restricting the ability of sidewalk counselors to share the pro-life message—threatening them with ruinous fines if they exercise their First Amendment rights.”

[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by Live Action News.]

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