A pro-life activist is challenging the city of San Diego’s standard on free speech by appealing a federal judge’s dismissal of his lawsuit against a “no speech zone” law outside abortion clinics.
With the help from the Thomas More Society, a not-for-profit pro-life law firm, Roger Lopez is appealing U.S. District Court Judge Linda Lopez’s decision to dismiss his lawsuit and deny his motion for a preliminary injunction.
On behalf of the plaintiff, TMS attorneys are arguing against San Diego’s ordinance in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on grounds that it violates Roger Lopez’s First and 14th Amendments by restricting his right to speak freely on public sidewalks and to pregnant women in need.
“It is an ordinance that is breathtaking in its sweep,” Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of litigation at Thomas More Society, told The Center Square Wednesday. “Essentially you can’t talk to anybody on sidewalks in a vast swath of the city of San Diego — all because they are trying to stop folks like Roger who offer assistance at the abortion clinics in the city.”
This past year, City Attorney Mara Elliott presented a proposed ordinance that updates buffer zones at health care facilities, places of worship and school grounds at the San Diego City Council meeting on May 21. Council members approved the ordinance without any amendments, according to the opening brief filed in the 9th Circuit case of Roger Lopez v. City of San Diego.
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Author: Ray Hilbrich
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