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CV NEWS FEED // A pro-life activist is suing the city of San Diego over new laws restricting free speech within 100 feet of abortion clinics.
The new “bubble zone” laws stipulate that speech within that area must be “softer than normal conversation” and cannot “harass or intimidate,” according to the Thomas More Society, which is representing the activist, Roger Lopez, in the lawsuit. The law also states that a pro-life protestor or counselor must obtain consent before entering into a passerby’s 8-foot “bubble.”
The Thomas More Society said that their lawsuit states that the new ordinances are “a joint effort between the city attorney’s office and abortion activists, who coordinated to draft a law restricting pro-life speech in flagrant disregard of the First Amendment’s prohibition on both content and viewpoint discrimination.”
The lawsuit points to 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’s executive vice president, said the new laws’ attempt “to silence pro-life speech outside abortion businesses is an especially egregious attack on our constitutional rights.”
He added, “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.”
Thomas More Society Special Counsel and Partner Paul M. Jonna stated that women have reported that Planned Parenthood’s 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,” he added. “But the City of San Diego wants to deprive women of this information—leading them to mistakenly believe that abortion is their only option.”
Jonna continued, “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.”
He said that the Thomas More Society “look[s] forward to holding the City of San Diego accountable for this unconstitutional assault on free speech rights.”
