Pro-Life Pastor Wins Fight Against Oakland for Free Speech

December 26, 2011

A pro-life Oakland, Calif., pastor won a case in which he sought an injunction against the city for inconsistently enforcing the "bubble zone" outside abortion clinics, TC Public Relations reports. The city had been allowing pro-abortion "escorts" to enter the zone, but had been prosecuting pro-life advocates who approached women seeking abortions. Pastor Walter Hoye was arrested and imprisoned but vindicated when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July that the city was infringing on his free speech; the city of Oakland, however, did not comply with the court's decision. The Life Legal Defense Fund argued that the city was violating the free speech of Hoye and others by not making the ordinance impartial. "The city's ... attempt to give favored status to pro-abortion speakers failed," said Dana Cody of LLDF. "LLDF will continue to ... do everything in its power to see that pro-life speakers are not shut out of Oakland's public forums."