9th Circuit rules for pro-life counselor

Aug 15, 2011
by Andy Lewis
OAKLAND, Calif.

(BP)--The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled the city of Oakland, Calif., violated the freedom of speech of a Baptist man who does sidewalk counseling at abortion clinics.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit, which is widely considered the most liberal of the federal appeals courts, decided unanimously the city was discriminatory in its enforcement of a 2008 ordinance. The measure established an eight-foot "bubble" around women who were seeking to enter abortion clinics and required her permission before a person could step into the zone to speak to her or provide her with written information, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Oakland "has enforced the ordinance against anti-abortion speakers but not pro-abortion speakers," judge Marsha Berzon said in the panel's 3-0 opinion. Oakland's policy "unconstitutionally suppresses speech based on the content of its message," Berzon wrote. the rest