Saturday, February 21, 2009

I'm so conflicted

Baptist Pastor Walter Hoye will spend 30 days in jail for violating an Oakland law that creates a buffer zone between anti-abortion protesters and abortion clinics. Walter Hoye is a peaceful man who carries a sign that reads “Jesus Loves You and Your Baby. Can We Help You?” From a few unbiased accounts I've read, it appears that Hoye did not harass women entering the clinic, yet he is going to jail.

Everyone who reads my blog knows that I am no fan of religion, but a am also a huge fan of free speech. I am conflicted here because I don’t like religion imprinting it’s contrived moral agenda on secular society. I tend to rebel against the message because I don’t want the message to become law. People need options.

I also support the right of people like Hoye who peacefully protest what they find morally objectionable. From the accounts I’ve read, I do not see what Hoye did as wrong. Do you?

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Jack 119p · 842 weeks ago

You don't see what he did was wrong? You said in the first sentence that he broke the law.
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JRH · 842 weeks ago

People have a right to free speech- but people also have a right to walk away from it and not listen. The reason for the buffer zone is so that women who are at the clinic to get an abortion can enter the clinic without literally having to do it with protesters in their faces. If permitted, protesters use every tactic available to coerce and intimidate a woman in to changing her decision. In my area, a woman seeking an abortion has to be escorted through the protest picket line. I love Oakland's law- the protesters still get to say their piece, but not a way that is designed to intimidate other people. The rights of the patient to say, "I don't have to listen to you; I can keep my distance" are still respected.
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Kevin · 842 weeks ago

Sounds like a pretty good law to have. I would imagine that many women going for an abortion would be in a pretty sore place emotionally. Any form of heckling - even in the form of a quasi-reasonable sign is a cynical form of emotional abuse.
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Volly · 842 weeks ago

The other problem is that a protest that starts out "peaceful" usually deteriorates when someone following the Rev decides to step it up a notch. He can be as peaceful and friendly as he wants, but if he encourages others to break the law, he's aiding and abetting at the very least.
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Buffy 83p · 842 weeks ago

The buffer zone is only eight feet. Truly anything less than that has the potential to be intimidating no matter how gently a protester's sign is worded, how polite they are, etc. Peoples' right to protest and speak freely is in no way being infringed upon by a mere eight foot limit, or by being held accountable for breaking it.
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Mojoey 107p · 842 weeks ago

Unfortunately, I must confess I have experienced the abuse as a escort. It was all I could do to stop myself from going homicidal. At the time there was no law preventing direct confrontations. It was a difficult and painful process. The Christian anti-abortion bastards do no even try to understand the reasons women choose this option. My problem is something else. It appears from the facts in the case that the Hoye did not violate the spirit of the law. In fact, it appears that he was arrested as an attempt to limit his free speech rights. It is the reason I am conflicted. Hoye has a right to speak his mind just as much as women have a right to abortions, however painful and illogical I find his positions to be.

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